the girl in the staircase
by Meg Rider
Summary: Meg Ariel Esmeralda Jasmine Aurora Rapunzel Charlotte Pocahontas Helga Tarzan Flynn Aladdin Eric Snow White Cinderella Belle Jim Adam Philip Hercules Vanessa Kida Gaston Thomas and Anastasia are considered mentally unstable in some way and have been sent to The Smith House to get better. But, they learn there is more to what happens in the house than the staff let on.
1. Chapter 1

Megara gripped the strap of her duffel bag as she was led through the halls of The Smith House. She couldn't help thinking the name was misleading since it looked more like a castle than a house. The floors and walls were made of gray stone and the decor consisted mainly of eerie statues. But, nonetheless, Meg was fascinated by the house and she decided if she was forced to stay somewhere, this place was a better alternative than most.

"The classroom and library are located here on the main floor," the principal, Maleficent, was saying, "as well as the kitchen. Breakfast is at seven o'clock, lunch is at noon and dinner is at six o'clock sharp. If you show up even one minute late for any meal, you will not be served. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Meg muttered.

Maleficent stopped short and turned to face Meg. "You _will _address me as Madam Maleficent or ma'am. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Very well." Maleficent turned and they continued up the large staircase. "Each morning, at eight o'clock sharp, you will report to your small group to check in. The small group rooms are located on this floor. The small group leader you have been assigned to is Nancy. Her room is here..." Maleficent motioned at a door to their right. Next to the door a small plaque hung on the wall with the name Nancy carved onto it. "If you are late for your small group you will be written up. If you don't show up at all, you will spend the day in the detention center under the supervision of our vice principal, Jafar. Our counselor, Jane Porter's office is on this floor as well, as is Minister Frollo's."

Meg and Maleficent continued up another staircase.

"The next two floors contain the bedrooms for the staff," Maleficent said as they bypassed those floors. "This floor here is where the boys sleep. Boys and girls are _not _to mingle after dark."

"Yes, ma'am," Meg replied as they bypassed that floor as well.

"This is where the girls sleep," Maleficent continued as they walked down the hallway. "Your room number is 605; the second to the last room on the left. And, should you need it; the medical center is also on the main floor."

Meg nodded as she glanced down the hall; it was completely empty. If it wasn't for the quiet chatter coming from the rooms, Meg would have thought she and Maleficent were the only ones on the floor.

"Lights out at ten o'clock, Megara," Maleficent said. "I will see you in the morning for breakfast."

"Good night, ma'am."

Maleficent gave her a small, approving nod then headed back down the stairs. Meg waited until she was out of sight before walking down to her room. The solid wood door was closed and there was a sheet of paper pinned to it.

**Schedule:**

**7:00am- Breakfast**

**8:00am- Small Group**

**9:00am-12:00pm- Class**

**12:00pm- Lunch**

**1:00pm-Homework**

**2:00pm-4:00pm- Activity**

**4:00pm-6:00pm- Visitation**

**6:00pm-Dinner**

**7:00pm-10:00pm- Free Time**

**10:00pm- Lights Out**

Meg shook her head at the schedule and then pushed down on the handle to open the door. Meg slowly stepped inside her room and was surprised to see it had more modern decor than the rest of the house. As she opened the door wider, she saw a girl standing in front of the mirror, combing her hair. When Meg closed the door, the girl turned and looked at her.

She had shoulder length strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. Meg thought she must have been pretty, but right now she had a black eye, a swollen lip, and the rest of her face was covered in cuts. She gave Meg an apprehensive look as Meg set her duffel bag on the unoccupied bed. Meg frowned; she was used to people looking at her like that.

Meg was what most people considered a Goth, but she didn't believe in labels and hated when people called her that. She always wore dark-colored clothes, black nail polish and a pentagram necklace. She had pale skin and was never seen without thick black eyeliner around her purple eyes. Meg saw the beauty in dark, which was often confused with having an evil way of thinking. She had been outcast by everyone she had ever met, but she didn't mind. She had become anti-social and preferred to be alone anyway. Since most people were afraid of her and avoided her, it was easy for Meg to keep to herself. Her only outlet was her writing.

Meg unpacked her bag, then sat down on her bed with her journal.

"I'm sorry."

Meg looked over to where the girl was lying on her bed. "For what?"

"I judged you when I first saw you. That wasn't fair and I apologize," she said.

Meg stared at her, slightly taken aback. No one had ever apologized for judging her before. "It's all right."

"My name is Cinderella," she said. "What's yours?"

"Megara. My friends call me Meg." Meg paused. "At least, they would if I had any friends."

"Welcome to The Smith House, Meg," Cinderella said with a small smile.

Meg closed her journal and set on the bed next to her. "So, what's the deal with this place, anyway?"

"The Smith House is a place for broken young adults to go to for 'help'." Cinderella made air quotes around the word help. "Basically, if you don't live up to society's standard of normal you can be sent here to be fixed. I've only been here a week, but I've noticed there are a lot of different kinds of us here: From criminals, to gays, to druggies to just plain crazy people."

Meg raised an eyebrow at her. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

"Domestic abuse victim," Cinderella said in a mock official voice, as if she was quoting someone. "My step mother wasn't happy about being stuck with me after my dad died. How about you?"

"Oh, my parents think I worship Hades and they sent me here to 'save my soul'," Meg replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Esmeralda stared nervously at her roommate, Snow White. Snow White was twirling a pocket knife in her hand, while staring into space. When Snow White was around other people, she was lively and sweet; but when she was safely hidden in their room, she mentally checked out and just played with that pocket knife. Esmeralda had tried talking to her, but the only thing she had learned so far was that she was here because someone tried killing her.

"Snow White?" Esmeralda said, carefully. "How are you doing?"

Snow White didn't say anything, or even acknowledge Esmeralda.

Esmeralda didn't know how long she was going to be forced to stay here, but there was no way she could handle spending every night with a roommate that freaked her out.

Esmeralda cleared her throat. "Did you get any visitors today?"

Snow White slowly shook her head. Esmeralda took a deep breath before continuing. This was the most interaction she had gotten from Snow White since they became roommates two weeks ago and Esmeralda wanted to proceed cautiously to keep her from shutting down again.

"My boyfriend, Phoebus, came to see me today," Esmeralda said. "He and I have a son, ya know. That's why I'm here, actually. My parents sent me here because they were ashamed that I had a baby not only out of wedlock, but also while I was still a teenager."

Snow White stopped twirling her knife and faced Esmeralda. "Pray your boyfriend doesn't marry another woman who then tries to kill your son." With that Snow White lied down on her bed and rolled over so she was facing the wall.

Esmeralda stared at Snow White in horror. _Why would she say something like that?_ She thought. Then it dawned on her: Snow White's step mom must have been the one who tried to kill her. Esmeralda's horrified expression melted into one of sympathy. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have someone in your family try to kill you.

Esmeralda shook her head, trying to banish the thought. Her room suddenly felt like a black hole for happiness and she had to get out. She looked at the clock and was relieved to see it was only nine-thirty; she still had a half an hour until lights out. She quietly snuck out of the room and made her way down the hall. As she approached the main staircase she noticed there was an unmarked door tucked back in the corner. She looked around to make sure none of the staff was around, then quickly opened the door and slipped inside. She was surprised to see it wasn't a room but another staircase. The stairs were narrow and the only light was a dim glow coming from the top of the staircase.

Esmeralda slowly walked up the stairs. She kept her hand on the wall to the right of her to guide her way. As she neared the top of the stairs, the light became brighter and she could see more clearly. She started to round the last turn, but stopped suddenly when she saw someone sitting on the stairs. It was a young girl who couldn't have been older than fifteen or sixteen. She was bent over, looking at something on the step below her, with her long red hair falling in her face.

Esmeralda tried to get a better look at the girl, but her movement caught the girl's eye and she snapped her head in Esmeralda's direction. There was no recognition in her blue eyes, but it was more than just because they hadn't met before. To Esmeralda, it looked more like she had never seen another human being before.

"Hi there," Esmeralda said, gently. "What's your name?"

The girl dropped whatever she was holding and ran up the stairs, away from Esmeralda. Esmeralda glanced at where the girl was sitting and realized she had been writing something on the step in chalk. Esmeralda walked up to the step and saw she had simply just written a lower case letter 'a'.

Esmeralda suddenly remembered that she had to get back to her room before lights out and she turned and made her way back down the stairs.

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Ariel peeked around the wall of the staircase just in time to see the dark-haired girl hurry back down the stairs. _Why did she come up here? _She thought. _She left right after I did, so she must have wanted to see me. She must know about me and came to stare at me and watch me like the doctor and minister do. Why else would she have come? _Ariel wrapped her arms around herself as she thought about the way the some of the staff look at her. It was always the same: a mixture of fear and anger. She slid down the wall and sat down on the step. She rested her forehead on her arms and squeezed her eyes shut. But, as usual, as soon as her eyes were closed, the screams filled her head again.

"Ariel?"

Ariel raised her head and looked up at her supervisor, Mulan. Mulan gave her a sweet smile and Ariel smiled back at her. Ariel liked Mulan; she was always kind to her and didn't treat her like some of the other people there did.

"Ariel, it's time for bed," Mulan said.

Ariel nodded and followed Mulan up the rest of the stairs. Ariel stayed in an isolated room, away from the rest of the boys and girls. Sometimes Ariel got lonely and wished she could join them, but she wasn't allowed. Maleficent told her it was in everyone's best interest if she stayed away from everybody else, but she never explained why.

Ariel changed into her nightgown and climbed into bed. Mulan said good night to Ariel, then left the room, locking the door behind her. Ariel waited a few moments to make sure Mulan was gone, then she got out of bed and walked over to the window. It was a small window, only about a foot wide and maybe three feet tall. It provided her with enough air, but wasn't big enough for her to be able to fit through it. Maleficent and the rest of the staff were always afraid that Ariel would try to escape. But, they didn't know that she didn't have anywhere to escape to.

Ariel pressed her hand against the cold glass and pushed open the window. It was a chilly night, so Ariel knew she wouldn't be able to leave the window open for long. Ariel didn't mind, though. She just wanted to listen to the water for a couple minutes before going to sleep. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore reminded Ariel of her home and she longed for things to be the way they used to be.


	3. Chapter 3

Jasmine stared at the ceiling as she tried to fall asleep. She concentrated on her roommate's breathing to keep herself relaxed. A sudden creak outside the door, however, broke her concentration. She glanced down on the floor and saw a shadow moving under the door. She bit her lip and rolled over, pulling the blanket over her head. The wind howled outside and long shadows stretched across the room. Jasmine sighed in frustration at her paranoia and sat up. She brought her knees up to her chest and looked over at her roommate.

"Belle?" Jasmine whispered.

Belle groaned. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry to wake you," Jasmine said.

Belle rolled over to look at Jasmine. "You can't sleep again, can you?"

Jasmine shook her head. "No."

Belle propped her head up on her hand. "I'll stay up with you again tonight on one condition: you tell me why you're here."

Jasmine bit her lip. She hadn't really talked about what happened to anyone and she wasn't sure if she felt comfortable opening up to Belle. She'd only known her for a week, after all.

"I'm going to take your silence as you not complying with my terms," Belle said. "Good night."

Jasmine was about to just let Belle go back to sleep when she heard movement outside their door again.

"No, I'll tell you!" Jasmine said quickly. She took a deep breath and began her story before she could change her mind. "My father is very wealthy and he's always having big, lavish parties to flaunt his wealth. About two weeks ago my dad threw a party to celebrate the merging of his company with another successful company. A lot of really important people in their industry were there and the owner of the other company had brought his son, Achmed, to do some networking, I guess. The later it got, the more they all drank. So, I excused myself and left the party. What I didn't know was that Achmed had followed me. After I had gotten into bed, he snuck into my room and pinned me down on the bed. I fought to get away from him, but he was bigger and much stronger than me. I tried screaming, but no one could hear me. Once he forced himself on me, time seemed to slow down. I remember every detail vividly: the way he smelled, the feel of his clothes rubbing on my bare skin, his sweaty hands clasped over mine and the pain. It hurt so much."

Jasmine could feel a sob choke her up and she fought back the tears. In an instant Belle joined Jasmine on her bed and put her arm around her.

"I had never been with a man before," Jasmine continued. "And he just _stole _my virginity. The worst part was that no one believed me. Everyone just asked, 'Why would Achmed do something like that?' My dad got so angry at me for accusing Achmed and he began thinking I made the whole thing up. So, he sent me here because there must wrong with _me_."

"No. Jasmine, there's nothing wrong with you," Belle said, soothingly.

"Belle, my father wasn't there for me when I needed him most. I told him I got raped, he called me a liar and sent me to a place where they fix broken people." It was getting harder for Jasmine to fight back the tears. "There must be something wrong with me if my own father can easily turn his back on me."

"There is no such thing as a broken person," Belle said.

"Don't try to make me feel better with stupid cliches," Jasmine said. "You have no idea what I'm going through."

Belle reached over and turned on the lamp. Jasmine blinked at the sudden light. Belle pushed up her sleeves and showed Jasmine her wrists. There were at least five or six horizontal scars on each wrist and two fresh cuts on her left wrist. Jasmine reached out and gently ran her finger over one of the scars. Belle flinched and immediately pulled her arm away.

"Jasmine, each one of us has our problems," Belle said, pulling down her sleeves. "But we're all here for the same reason: we're all judged and misunderstood. What happened to you is terrible, but the fact is you're here now. So, just play along with their little game until they think you're better and then you can go home."

"I don't want to play their game!" Jasmine snapped, getting angry. "That man took not only my body, but my peace of mind, my virtue, my father's trust, not to mention my trust in other men. And _I'm _the one who's locked up while he's free to prey on some other poor girl. You say there's no such thing as a broken person, Belle, but you're wrong. Achmed is broken, _my father _is broken and they broke _me_."

"If there was a girl standing in front of you right now who had just gone through the exact same thing you did, what would you say to her?" Belle asked. Seeing that Jasmine didn't have an answer, she continued, "Would you tell her to just lie down and give up? Would you offer her a cliche like 'you're not alone'? Or maybe you'd go in the opposite direction and tell her that no one understands what she's going through and she's all alone? Or would you tell her that that man has no power over her and no one can take away her worth? Sure, another person can physically damage you, even break your bones. But _no one _can decide what you're worth or whether or not there's something wrong with you, unless you let them. Only by agreeing with them do you make it true."

With that, Belle turned off the lamp and got back into her own bed. Jasmine stared into the darkness, thinking about what Belle had said. Of course it was easy for Belle to make that speech; she didn't know what it was like to be hurt by the person who was supposed to protect you. To have your only family believe someone they barely knew over you and send you away on a stranger's lie. No, Belle was wrong. Jasmine was broken and unlovable. Her father proved he didn't lover her when he sent her here and if her own father couldn't love her, then there was no way anyone else could.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I got a couple reviews saying this plot is similar to another story and I have a couple comments on that: One- I apologize to the author(s) that they're referring to. And 2- I have not read any other story like this and didn't take inspiration from any other story. It is purely coincidence**.**  
**

Meg woke early to the sound of her alarm blaring. She quickly reached over and turned it off before it woke Cinderella. She groaned and rolled over onto her back. The schedule posted to her door was pretty tight and there didn't seem to be much time to shower, except before breakfast and after dinner. So, Meg opted to shower in the morning. But, she was starting to regret it.

_Get up! _Meg demanded herself. With another groan, she dragged herself out of bed. She quietly snuck out of the room and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Meg pushed open the door and immediately spotted a rack of towels. She grabbed one, then continued on to the main part of the bathroom. She was surprised to find that there was only one other girl in the bathroom. She thought for sure there would be a lot more girls getting ready before breakfast. _They must all shower after dinner, during free time, instead of getting up early, _Meg thought.

"Good morning!" the girl greeted. She smiled at Meg through her mirror as she vigorously stuck bobby pins in her long blonde hair.

"Good morning," Meg mumbled. It was way too early to be dealing with the girl's perkiness. She continued walking towards the shower stalls.

"Don't use the third shower on the right," the girl called after her. "The hot water handle is broken, so that shower always runs cold."

Meg nodded in acknowledgement and slipped into one of the other stalls. She didn't particularly like using public showers, so she hurried through her routine and got out as quickly as possible. The girl was still sitting in front of the mirror, but she was now applying makeup. Meg sat down at one of the other mirrors. She frowned when she saw the eyeliner streaks on her cheeks and she wiped them off with her fingers. There were still smudges around her eyes, but she ignored them and started combing out her hair.

"I haven't seen you here before," the girl said.

"I just got here last night," Meg replied.

"Yeah, I've only been here a couple weeks. I think everyone here is relatively new; all arriving within the last month. I'm Rapunzel, by the way." She leaned over and extended her hand to Meg.

Meg stared at her hand, but then hesitantly shook it. "Megara. Or Meg, I guess."

Rapunzel frowned when she saw the pentagram on the inside of Meg's wrist. She quickly dropped Meg's hand and turned back to her mirror.

Meg gave her an amused look. "I'm here because my parents accused me of worshiping Hades. It's not true, though. The pentagram is actually a symbol of protection. The inverted, or upside down, pentagram is a symbol of Satan worship."

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow. "Worshiping _Hades_?" She repeated.

Meg nodded. "My whole family is Greek and we believe in the Greek gods: like Hades and Zeus."

Before Rapunzel could say anything, the bathroom door swung open and another girl walked in. Meg couldn't help but stare at her; she was easily one of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen. She had golden blonde hair that curled at the bottom, flawless skin, deep red lips and purple eyes.

"Good morning!" Rapunzel greeted her.

The girl smiled at Rapunzel. "Good morning, Rapunzel." She had a musical voice that Meg found almost enchanting.

"Megara, this is my roommate, Aurora," Rapunzel said. "Aurora, this is Megara; she just got here last night."

"It's nice to meet you, Megara," Aurora said.

"You can call me Meg," Meg said.

Aurora nodded, then continued on to the showers. Once she was in the stall and the water was running Meg turned to Rapunzel.

"Why is _she _here?" Meg asked. "She doesn't look like someone who belongs in a place like this."

Rapunzel sighed as she started putting her makeup back in her makeup bag. "She was in a coma for a while and when she finally woke up she kept talking about how she had been sleeping in a tower that was guarded by a dragon and fairies saved her. The doctors diagnosed her as being crazy and sent her here."

Meg glanced down at the showers. "She doesn't _seem _crazy."

"It's kinda hard to tell," Rapunzel said. "She doesn't talk to many people and when she does she mainly just asks them questions about themselves. Sometimes I hear her singing to herself when she thinks she's alone. But, she's never really shown any signs of being crazy. Unlike Kida..."

"Kida?"

Rapunzel nodded as she moved closer to Meg. "Kida just arrived a couple days ago. She's always talking in some weird made up language. I guess she attacked the priest of her church and kept ranting about how he was an unholy man. You can't miss her: she has long white hair and some sort blue tribal tattoo under her left eye. She's in my small group."

"Who's your small group leader?" Meg asked.

"Amelia; she's a former Navy captain," Rapunzel replied. "Anyway, I'm gonna head back to my room and finish getting ready. I'll see you at breakfast."

Meg watched Rapunzel head out of the bathroom. She was relieved to know that Rapunzel wasn't in her small group. Rapuznel was definitely a gossip and Meg didn't really want her knowing anything about her.

Meg quickly blow-dried her hair and applied some eyeliner, then made her way back to her room. It was nearing seven o'clock and she passed a couple girls who were heading towards the stairs. The floor was a lot livelier than it had been the night before. Meg walked into her room just as Cinderella was stepping out of their closet.

"Morning, Meg," Cinderella greeted as she pulled a t-shirt over her head.

"Morning."

"You wanna go to breakfast together?" Cinderella asked.

"Sure. Just give me a minute to get dressed."

Cinderella nodded and sat down on her bed to wait. Meg slipped on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black mesh top over a purple tank top. She and Cinderella then joined the rest of the girls as they made their way downstairs.

Meg braced herself as she prepared to face her first full day at The Smith House.


	5. Chapter 5

Esmeralda gripped her tray as she walked across the dining room. There were only a few tables scattered across the room, causing the students to have to sit together and socialize. Esmeralda usually sat with two of the boys from her small group, Flynn Rider and Jim Hawkins, as well as Charlotte- who arrived the same day Esmeralda did- and Charlotte's roommate, Anastasia. Esmeralda took her place next to Flynn and across from Charlotte. Flynn and Jim were eating quickly, as if an hour wasn't enough time to eat their entire breakfast. Anastasia was picking at her food and looking around the dining room, only occasionally eating something. Charlotte had a small plate of eggs in front of her, but she wasn't eating it. Charlotte was anorexic and was sent here as a type of rehab. Her small group leader, Nancy, encouraged her to eat at least a little at every meal, but Charlotte refused. She would usually get a small plate of food and pick at it to make it look like she ate something, but always threw all of it away.

"Good morning," Esmeralda greeted.

Flynn and Jim gave her a nod to say hello, but then went back to eating. They were both here by court order. Jim had been arrested one too many times for breaking and entering and Flynn had been arrested for grand theft. Since they were minors, they couldn't be sent to an actual prison, so the judge sentenced them to come here instead of going back to juvenile hall. The judge thought some time here might straighten them out. Despite their criminal records, though, they were two of the nicest guys at The Smith House. Jim was a bit of a rebel, but he had good intentions and Flynn was quite the charmer.

Anastasia looked at Esmeralda as if she had startled her. She gave Esmeralda a small smile, then lowered her eyes and ate some of her breakfast. Esmeralda felt sorry for Anastasia. Anastasia had been in some sort of accident that caused her to lose her memory; she couldn't remember anything that happened to her before a few weeks ago. The only reason she knew her name was because she had been wearing a necklace at the time with her name on it. Sometimes Anastasia seemed lost, like she had no idea what was going on, and tended to have an attitude towards some people. But, Esmeralda liked her. She was out-going and witty and didn't take crap from anybody.

"Man, I can't wait for activity time," Charlotte said when everyone had finished eating. "The activity coordinator is _so _dreamy!"

Flynn laughed. "_Naveen_? Are you kidding? He has the personality of cardboard. Not to mention his weird accent."

Charlotte raised her eyebrows at Flynn. "Sounds like _some_body is jealous."

Flynn snorted. "Yeah right."

"I heard Naveen has a thing goin' on with the cook," Esmeralda interrupted, trying to keep an argument from starting between Charlotte and Flynn. "What's her name again?"

"Tiana," Jim said.

Esmeralda nodded. "Right. I think Naveen and Tiana are together." Esmeralda had no idea if that was actually true. Rapunzel had mentioned it to her once in small group, but she didn't know where Rapunzel had gotten the information.

Charlotte sighed. "Well, nonetheless, he sure is nice to look at."

Esmeralda and Anastasia nodded in agreement while Flynn and Jim rolled their eyes. The five of them then just sat in silence for a few moments. They still didn't know each other very well and starting a new conversation was a little awkward.

"Do any of you know anything about the floor above the girls' rooms?" Esmeralda asked, finally breaking the silence. She had been thinking about the red-headed girl she saw the night before a lot and couldn't help being curious about her.

"I didn't even know there _was _a floor above us," Charlotte said.

"I didn't, either," Esmeralda said. "I came across the staircase by accident last night."

"Well, did you check it out?" Jim asked.

"Not really. I started going up the stairs, but it was really dark and I didn't make it all the way up." Esmeralda wasn't sure why, but she didn't really want to tell them about the girl she had seen.

"Maybe we should investigate it tonight during free time," Anastasia suggested.

"It would be a waste of time."

The five of them looked up to see Maleficent standing next to their table. _How long has she been standing there? _Esmeralda wondered.

"Those stairs lead up to the tower, which has been locked up," Maleficent continued.

"Why, ma'am?" Charlotte asked.

"The tower consists of only one room: the isolation room," Maleficent said. "Every once in a while we get a student who is considered very dangerous and can't be around the other students."

"Who's up there now?" Esmeralda asked, then quickly added, "Ma'am."

Charlotte's eyes grew wide. "Wait. There's somebody _dangerous _in here, ma'am?"

Maleficent placed a slender hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "You needn't fear, Charlotte, there is no one up there now. We haven't had to put anyone up there in quite a few years. That's why it's been locked up."

Charlotte relaxed a bit, but Esmeralda just stared at Maleficent in confusion. Maleficent avoided Esmeralda's gaze and walked away.

_That can't be right, _Esmeralda thought. _What about the girl I saw up there last night? I know I didn't just imagine her. At least... I don't think I did. _

Esmeralda shook her head. Maybe she _had_ just been seeing things. Why would Maleficent tell them there was no one up there if there actually was? What would she have to gain by lying to them? It didn't make sense to Esmeralda. She honestly didn't think their principal would lie to them, but she decided she would go back up there tonight just to double check.

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Maleficent stood in the doorway of the dining room with her eyes trained on Esmeralda. _That girl could be trouble for me in the future, _she thought. _I need to keep a careful watch over her…_

**Note: I KNOW Anastasia is not Disney. But, she fits into my story, so I wanted to add her. So, please don't leave any reviews trying to correct me by saying Anastasia isn't Disney. Thank you.**


	6. Chapter 6

Jasmine arrived to small group before anyone else. Seven plastic chairs were set up in a circle and Jasmine sat in one that was facing the door. Ever since the night with Achmed she couldn't have her back to a door, afraid that someone would sneak up behind her. Cinderella was the next one to come in and she took a seat next to Jasmine. Jasmine didn't know Cinderella very well, but Cinderella was social and friendly and Jasmine was glad she was in her small group. A lot of the people at The Smith House seemed to be withdrawn and negative and it was nice to be around someone who wasn't like that. Cinderella also never pushed anyone into talking about why they were there. She tended to keep the conversation on happier, more positive topics. However, if you _did _want to talk about why you were there, she was a good listener and she never attempted to offer advice or unwanted opinions.

Vanessa came in next, followed by Helga Sinclair. Vanessa was here because she was a lesbian and her "overly-religious parents sent her here in hopes to have her converted". Vanessa always did whatever she was told, but it was obvious that she was just playing along to make them happy. So far, Jasmine didn't know why Helga was there. She always had an attitude and refused to participate in anything. Vanessa sat down on the other side of Cinderella, while Helga took the seat closest to the door, away from the three girls.

Eric stumbled in behind them. It was obvious he rushing to avoid being late. He plopped down in the empty seat between Helga and Vanessa. He slouched down and crossed his arms in front him. Jasmine didn't know why he was here, either. Eric, like Cinderella, was very social. He would talk to anyone about anything; except why he was here. Eric was also really good-looking. Jasmine had noticed a lot of the girls here would go out of their way to talk to him and she couldn't blame them. If Achmed hadn't destroyed her desire to be near any man, she would be flirting with Eric like all the other girls.

The last person in the small group to come in was Thomas. Jasmine frowned when she saw him. On his first day in small group he told everyone his name was Thomas and he was here because his father thinks he's gay. He hasn't spoken in small group since then. In fact, as far as Jasmine knew, he never really talked to anyone. Anytime she saw him, he was either alone or sitting silently while someone else talked to him. Thomas glanced uncomfortably at Helga and she shot him a dirty look. Thomas lowered his head and sat down next to Jasmine. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, moving closer to Cinderella. Jasmine was raised a Christian and had trouble accepting gays.

"Glad to see everyone made it here on time."

Jasmine looked up as their small group leader, Edward, came into the room. He closed the door behind him and took the seat between Thomas and Helga.

"As usual, no one has to share why they're here, but is there anyone who would like to?" Edward asked. When no one said anything, he continued. "Very well, let's move on. Now that everyone who is scheduled to be here has arrived, the other small group leaders and I have decided it would be best to assign each of you an accountability partner. In the past we've assigned our students with a member of the staff, but we've found that you're more likely to communicate better with another student. Starting today and everyday from now until you leave, you are to spend activity time with your partner. You _must _tell your partner why you're here so that your partner can help keep you on the right track to getting better. The list of your partners will be posted on the cafeteria door for you to check after small group. Any questions?"

"Yeah: what if we don't like our 'accountability' partner?" Helga asked, making air quotes around the word accountability.

"That's a good question," Edward said. "Unfortunately, it _is _possible that you will end up with someone you don't get along with. However, since socializing and spending time with this person everyday is mandatory, you should make the best out of the situation. Remember: you're all here because you need help. Try to see things from the other person's point of view."

Helga rolled her eyes; it was no secret that she thought Edward was cheesy. And Jasmine had to agree that he was; but he wasn't bad. Belle was in Shang's small group and she had told Jasmine that Shang runs his group like they're in the military. Jasmine had to admit she'd rather listen to Edward's cheesy comments than be treated like she was in boot camp.

Edward talked the rest of the hour on the importance of "getting better". Jasmine knew he was trying help, but she didn't think it was possible for her to get better so she just tuned him out. When small group was finally over, everyone filed out of the room and headed back to the cafeteria to check the accountability partner list.

**Partners:****  
Aurora and Philip  
Rapunzel and Anastasia  
Charlotte and Tarzan  
Pocahontas and Belle  
Helga and Aladdin  
Flynn and Cinderella  
Eric and Vanessa  
Snow White and Hercules  
Esmeralda and Adam  
Megara and Gaston  
Jasmine and Thomas  
Jim and Kida  
**  
Jasmine frowned when she saw her partner was Thomas. _Why does God keep punishing me? _She thought. She stepped away from the small crowd that had gathered at the cafeteria door and hurried off to class, careful not make eye contact with Thomas. As Jasmine walked to class she started thinking about how her pastor always said God works in mysterious ways and that everything happens for a reason. Maybe Jasmine was partners with Thomas so that she could help him change his sinful behavior. Thinking about this made Jasmine feel a little bit better.

_A/N: I **do not **share Jasmine's view on gays in any way, shape or form. That is just how her character is, so please do not hate on me because of what I wrote in this chapter._


	7. Chapter 7

"All right, everyone, listen up!" Naveen announced. "As you all know starting today you will be spending activity time with your accountability partner. So, get with your partner and let's get this started."

Meg scanned the activity room. Her partner was Gaston, but she didn't know who that was. Not far from her, she spotted Rapunzel with a tall, red-haired girl. Remembering that Rapunzel was a gossip, Meg assumed Rapunzel knew everyone here. Meg walked over to her and tapped her shoulder.

Rapunzel turned around and smiled at her. "Hi, Meg."

"Hi. My partner is Gaston, but I don't know who that is," Meg told her.

Rapunzel frowned and gave Meg a pity look. She then pointed to the other side of the room where a tall, muscular guy with black hair stood leaning against the wall. Meg thanked Rapunzel and made her way over to Gaston. When Gaston saw her he gave her a mischievous smile.

"Please tell me you're Megara," Gaston said.

"Call me Meg," She replied. It was then that she realized Gaston was staring at her chest. Meg put her hand on her hip. "Eyes up here, big boy."

Gaston looked up and winked at her. Meg rolled her eyes and sat down on the floor, against the wall. Gaston sat down next to her, but neither of them said anything. Meg looked around the room at everyone else. It seemed like almost everybody was having a hard time opening up to their partner. A few feet away from her and Gaston, Aurora sat with her partner, Philip. Aurora was just sitting there, spacing out. Philip seemed to be on edge. He was leaning against the wall and twitching.

"It's not polite to stare," Gaston said.

I turned around and looked at him. "I didn't mean to stare."

Gaston laughed. "How could you not? I mean, whose idea was it to partner up the crazy girl and the druggie?"

Meg raised an eyebrow. "Well, now I know why Aurora and Philip are here. Why don't you tell me why _you're _here?"

Gaston ran his hand over his hair, causing a couple strands to fall out of his low ponytail. "Uh, you first."

"Isn't it obvious?" Meg asked, motioning at her pentagram necklace that hung down to just above her cleavage. "I'm here because of my Satan worship. My parents want the great people at The Smith House to save my soul."

Gaston laughed. "I take it you don't have much faith in this place, either?"

Meg shook her head. "I don't _actually_ worship Hades, so there's nothing for them to fix. Your turn: why are you here?"

Gaston rested his head back against the wall. "I'm a sex addict. I was court-ordered to come here after a girl claimed I raped her."

"'Claimed'? Did you actually do it?" Meg asked.

"I don't know. I don't remember much about that night. But, I guess it's possible," Gaston admitted. "Sometimes I get carried away. But, if I _did_, I didn't do it intentionally."

"I guess there are worst things than being addicted to sex," Meg said. She wasn't here to judge anyone else; that was the staff's job. Clearly Gaston felt bad about what happened, so who was she to make him feel worse?

Gaston glanced over at her. "Yeah, I could be selling my soul to the devil."

Meg couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I had to get this body somehow. Plus, it also came with revenge on my ex boyfriend."

"Excuse me, Naveen?" a girl called out.

Meg looked up to see an attractive girl with long blonde hair standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Naveen gave her an annoyed look. "What is it, Helga?"

"My partner, um..." Helga glanced down at a boy sitting on the floor next to her. He said something to her and she looked back at Naveen. "My partner, _Aladdin_, and I are having trouble talking to each other with all these people around. How do you expect us to open up when we're surrounded by people?"

Naveen gave her a thoughtful expression. "You bring up a good point, Helga. You all may disperse to other places, if you'd like. But, remember: you are _not _to leave the grounds and you cannot use the bedrooms. And you must stay with your partner until activity time ends at four o'clock."

Naveen had barely finished the last sentence when everyone stood up and started heading out of the activity room. Gaston and Meg followed them out. Most of the students went outside, but Gaston led Meg towards the classroom. They slipped inside and he closed the door behind him. Meg sat down on top of Mr. Crane's desk while Gaston walked over to the window. It was partly open and they could hear some of the nearby students talking. Gaston closed the window and then pulled down the blinds. The room was instantly dark and Meg couldn't help feeling a little relieved. Being in the dark was more relaxing and she and Gaston would probably feel more comfortable talking to each other if they couldn't really see each other.

"How long have you been here?" Gaston asked.

Judging by where his voice came from, Meg could tell he was still standing by the window. "I just got here last night."

"How long do you think they'll keep us here?" Gaston asked.

"I'm not sure," Meg replied. "I think we have to stay here until they think we're better, or until a family member signs us out."

"Didn't Maleficent tell us during the orientation that there's a six month maximum?" Gaston asked. "What if we're not better after six months? What happens to us then?"

"I think that's up to whoever sent us here in the first place," Meg said.

"The judge sent me here because I'm only seventeen and couldn't be tried as an adult," Gaston said. "But, I'm gonna turn eighteen while I'm here. I could be sent to jail once I leave."

"I don't think you have to worry," Meg told him. "I mean, I haven't been here long, but it seems like the staff doesn't really invest too much time in us. I'm sure you could pretend to be better and they wouldn't even notice the difference."

"I didn't rape that girl," Gaston said, quietly. He was now standing right in front of Meg.

"I believe you."

"You do?"

"Yes. I'm not here to judge or cast you out, Gaston. We're supposed to be helping each other," Meg said.

Gaston didn't say anything, but all of a sudden his mouth was on hers. His lips were strong, but soft. Before Meg could react, he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Gaston said. "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay," Meg whispered. She reached out and pulled his head back down to hers.

Meg held Gaston's head in place as he kissed her again. This time, his kiss was more urgent. He slipped his tongue in her mouth and she sighed. Meg leaned back on the desk and Gaston positioned himself above her. As he pressed against her, she felt her body start aching. She desperately started undoing her jeans. Gaston slipped off her pants, before taking off his own. As he entered her, she gripped the edge of the desk. There were voices in the hallway outside the classroom and Meg bit her lip to keep from making any noise. But, the more aggressive Gaston became, the better it felt and Meg had a hard time staying quiet. She let a couple soft moans escape her mouth. She arched her back and dug her nails into his bicep as she climaxed. Gaston let out a small groan and then collapsed on top of her.

"Oh, wow. Praise Hades," Meg whispered as she tried returning her breathing to normal.

Gaston quickly stood up and they both put their pants back on.

"I could be wrong, but this was probably a step backwards for both of us," Gaston muttered.


	8. Chapter 8

**I've already addressed this once, but evidently I have to do it again. I DID NOT steal anything. I don't even know what story you are all referring to. I am currently in the middle of working on 5 different stories on here and don't even have time to read other stories. If you don't like my story, don't read it. It's as simple as that. Also, obviously I've read all my reviews for this story, so I don't need you to keep telling me this is similar to the other one. It's completely coincidental. I wish the other author luck on their story and I will continue to write mine... **

"Hey, Esmeralda, you wanna hit up the pool before lights out?" Charlotte asked as they all left the cafeteria after dinner.

"No thanks," Esmeralda replied. "I'm kinda tired, so I think I'll just hang out in my room tonight."

"Good luck with Snow White," Flynn muttered.

"Yeah, try not to get stabbed in your sleep," Jim added.

"I don't think Snow White's gonna try to kill me, but thanks for the concern," Esmeralda said. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Good night, Esmeralda," Anastasia said.

"Good night." With that Esmeralda left her friends and headed towards her room.

Like the night before, Esmeralda waited until Snow White was asleep and no one was in the hallway before making her way to the staircase. She did one more check to make sure no one was watching, then slipped inside the door. Again, the staircase was dark, with the exception of a dim light coming from the top of the staircase. Esmeralda walked slowly up the stairs. If the girl was up there, she didn't want to scare her away. But, as Esmeralda rounded the corner, she saw the staircase was empty. She frowned and continued up the stairs. She found the door that led to the isolation room and carefully approached it. She did a quick glance behind her, then reached for the doorknob. To her surprise, and disappointment, the door was locked.

_Maybe Maleficent was telling the truth, _Esmeralda thought. _Maybe I was just seeing things after all. _

Esmeralda turned and started walking back down the stairs. But when she reached the spot where the girl had been sitting the night before, something caught her eye. She stopped and crouched down on the step. There, on the step below her, was the lowercase _a_ the girl had drawn the night before, except now it had a line through it and next to it was another lowercase _a_. Esmeralda touched the space between the two chalk letters, then turned and looked back up at the door. She hadn't been seeing things: there was definitely a girl in the isolation room. Why did Maleficent lie? And what could that girl have done that made her dangerous? Esmeralda looked back down at the _a _with the line through it. _I wonder what it means... _

Esmeralda slowly stood up and started walking back downstairs. She couldn't help thinking that there was something weird going on here.

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Ariel wiggled in Mulan's grasp. They stood by the door to her room, while Mulan peeked out the small window. With one hand, Mulan held Ariel's hands behind her back, while her other hand was clasped firmly over Ariel's mouth. When Mulan was sure Esmeralda was gone, she let go of Ariel.

"I'm sorry," Mulan said. "But, I'm under order's from Maleficent to keep you away from the others. It's my job to not only look after you, but also to protect the other students _from _you. At all cost."

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

As Esmeralda stepped out of the staircase she thought she was in the clear. But, when she turned around she found herself face to face with Maleficent.

"Madam Maleficent," Esmeralda said, trying to hide her surprise. "I was just-"

"Come with me, dear," Maleficent interrupted.

"Yes, ma'am." Esmeralda lowered her head and followed Maleficent down to her office.

Maleficent motioned for Esmeralda to have a seat while she closed her office door. Esmeralda kept her head down as she sat down on one of the cushioned chairs. She didn't look up until Maleficent took her seat on the other side of the desk. She folded her hands in front of her and stared at Esmeralda with her piercing black eyes.

"Esmeralda," Maleficent said after a few long moments, "what were you doing in the tower?"

"I was just... _curious_, ma'am," Esmeralda replied.

"I told you the tower room was locked up, so what were you hoping to find?" Maleficent asked.

Esmeralda bit her lower lip. "I think I saw someone up there last night."

Maleficent narrowed her eyes. "I told you there is no one up there."

"I _know _I saw her," Esmeralda stated.

"Look, Esmeralda, I understand that you believe you saw her and, frankly, I'm not surprised." Maleficent picked up a folder that was sitting on her desk and set it down in front of her. She opened it, then looked back up at Esmeralda. "I've gone over your file and it seems your family should have admitted you for being crazy, like that Aurora girl, instead of for simply being a whore."

Esmeralda narrowed her eyes at Maleficent. "What?"

"According to this," Maleficent held up the folder, "you have a history of seeing things. Especially more recently."

Esmeralda stared at Maleficent in disbelief and confusion. "That's not true."

Maleficent gave her sympathetic look. "It's all right, Esmeralda. That's why you're here; so we can help you."

"I'm _not _crazy!" Esmeralda cried. "I know you're keeping that girl up there and you think by telling everyone I'm crazy they won't believe me."

"That's not true at all, Esmeralda," Maleficent said calmly.

"Yes it is!" Esmeralda cried, standing up. "You're hiding something, I know you are. I'm _gonna_ find out what's going on here."

Maleficent picked up her phone and hit a speed dial button. "Jafar, come to my office please." She nodded, then hung up the phone.

A few minutes later, Jafar slipped into Maleficent's office. Esmeralda had never seen him before and she had to admit he wasn't at all what she was expecting. Maleficent always threatened everyone by telling them they would be sent to the detention center with Jafar, so Esmeralda pictured him to be a tall, muscular and intimidating man. Though Jafar _was _tall, he was not muscular by any means. He was very thin and walked with a snake-shaped walking stick. And even though he wasn't intimidating-looking, he was still creepy. He had a long face and eyes that resembled those of a snake and his thin beard was as twisted as Esmeralda imagined him to be.

"You rang?" Jafar said in a flat, monotone voice.

"Yes I did." Maleficent motioned towards Esmeralda. "Esmeralda here has been seeing things and just had an outburst. I fear the affect she will have on the other students and I think it would be best to put her in room 49 for a day or two."

"What? No!" Esmeralda cried. She had heard room 49 was where they locked up the students who they deemed to be too crazy to be around the other students. "I'm not crazy!"

Jafar leaned his walking stick against the wall, then roughly took a hold of Esmeralda's arm and pulled her to her feet. She struggled to get away from him, but he was much stronger than he looked. He swung open the office door, then picked up his walking stick and led Esmeralda down the hall. Esmeralda dug her heels into the floor and tried pulling her arm free.

"Let me go!" Esmeralda cried, digging her nails into Jafar's hand.

Jafar rolled his eyes, then gave her arm a hard tug causing her to stumble forward. He half led, half dragged her down the stairs to the main floor. They walked down the hallway to the last room. He leaned his walking stick against the wall and dug his keys out of his pocket. When he unlocked the door, he threw Esmeralda inside. He flipped on the light using a switch in the hallway. Esmeralda looked around. The room was small and narrow and all white. A small window with bars over it was a few feet above her head, about three feet out of her reach. There was a bed on one wall and a sink and small toilet on the wall across from the bed. There was only about two feet of space between the two walls.

"Someone will bring you breakfast," Jafar said.

"Please don't do this," Esmeralda pleaded. "You can't just lock me up like this."

"Yes, I can," Jafar stated as started closing the door.

Esmeralda grabbed for the doorknob just as Jafar locked the door. She cried out in frustration and slapped her hands against the door. Suddenly, the light went off and Esmeralda was left in darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

Jasmine absent-mindedly ran her fingers over her cross necklace as she made her way to the pool to meet Thomas. At their first meeting the afternoon before Jasmine had tried quoting a couple Bible verses to Thomas about homosexuality, but he just got mad and told her she sounded like his mother. She decided today she would hear Thomas' side in order to come up with a better approach.

When Jasmine reached the pool, she immediately spotted Thomas in one of the lounge chairs. He was wearing faded jeans and a tight long-sleeved shirt. When he saw Jasmine, he gave her a half smile.

"Hi, Thomas," Jasmine greeted, sitting down on the chair next to his.

"Hi."

"Thomas, listen, I want to apologize for yesterday," Jasmine said. "I crossed a line."

Thomas looked up at her, slightly surprised. "Thanks."

Jasmine nibbled on her lower lip, waiting to see if Thomas would say anything else. When he didn't, she continued. "Would you like to talk about-"

"I'm not gay," Thomas said, interrupting her.

Jasmine stared at him for a second, then in a lowered voice asked, "Are you just saying that to make the staff believe you're 'fixed' so you can go home?"

"No. I'm really not gay; never was," Thomas said. "I'm not exactly the kind of son my dad wanted; I don't live up to his standards and expectations. I'm not good at sports or building things and I have no interest in cars. And that's why my dad assumes I'm gay."

"So, just because you're not into the same things that normal guys are into, your dad thinks you're gay?" Jasmine asked. Thomas nodded. "That doesn't make sense."

"You don't believe me." It was more of an accusation than a question.

"Thomas, your father wouldn't send you to a place like this based on that alone; he would need more concrete evidence," Jasmine said. "So, what really happened? Did he catch you with another guy?"

Thomas rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I'm not gay."

Jasmine put her hand on Thomas' arm. "Thomas, no one can help you if you stay in denial. I mean, I understand why you wouldn't want to admit it, but-"

Thomas interrupted Jasmine by kissing her. It was a gentle kiss; not rough or dominating. But, it still brought Jasmine back to the night with Achmed. She quickly pulled away and slapped Thomas.

"How dare you!"

Jasmine stood up and stormed away. It wasn't until she reached the main staircase that she realized the slap was a bad idea. No doubt Maleficent would find out about it and send her to the detention center with Jafar. Jasmine sighed and leaned against the railing.

Somewhere down the hall, Jasmine thought she heard a woman calling out for help. She pushed herself off the railing and slowly started walking down the hall. She heard the cry for help again, but didn't see anybody. Though, it sounded like it was coming from a room at the end of the hallway. Jasmine frowned; she knew the room at the end of the hall was room 49 and she also knew they only kept the crazy students in there. However, she didn't know there was someone in there now. Maleficent had made it seem like they only use the room for extreme cases.

Suddenly the door to the room next to Jasmine flew open, startling her. Vanessa and Helga stumbled out of the room, completely oblivious to Jasmine. Helga grabbed Vanessa and pulled her into a kiss. Jasmine stared in horror at them. Helga leaned back against the wall without breaking their kiss but before they could go any further, Jasmine cleared her throat. Helga and Vanessa both shot her dirty looks. Helga walked over to Jasmine and Jasmine couldn't help feeling a little intimidated by her.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this," Helga demanded.

Vanessa took Helga's hand and the two of them walked away. Thinking what she heard was Helga and Vanessa, Jasmine turned and started walking back down the hall.

"Let me out of here!"

Jasmine froze and slowly turned around. The voice was definitely coming from room 49. She took a deep breath and approached the room. She peaked into the small window, but didn't see anybody. She noticed a light switch on the wall next to the door and she flipped it one. All of a sudden a face appeared in the window. Jasmine gasped in fear and stumbled backwards, running into someone. She looked up to see Maleficent standing behind her. Maleficent reached over and flipped off the light switch. Jasmine looked back at the little window, but no one was there.

"Shouldn't you be with your partner?" Maleficent asked.

"Y-yes, ma'am," Jasmine stammered. "It's just that I- I thought-"

"Return to your partner and don't concern yourself with this room." Maleficent put her arm around Jasmine's shoulders and guided her down the hall.

Jasmine nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

As Jasmine walked away, she could feel Maleficent's eyes on her back and she quickened her pace a little bit. When she finally reached the pool, she saw Thomas was still sitting the same spot, but now two big muscular students were standing next to him. Jasmine could tell by the look on Thomas' face that they were harassing him. As she approached the boys she could make out what the dark-haired boy was saying.

"It really makes us uncomfortable when you stare at us like that," he said.

Thomas glanced up at him. "I wasn't-"

"Don't try to deny it, faggot, I saw you checking me out," the orange-haired boy said.

Then, out of nowhere, the orange-haired boy grabbed Thomas and pinned him down on the ground while the dark-haired boy started beating him.

"Hey!" Jasmine cried. "Stop it!" She ran the rest of the way to them and grabbed the dark-haired boy.

He swung his arm back to push Jasmine off him. She slipped and slammed her head against the cement edge of the pool. She fell into the water and as she sank to the bottom of the pool, she slowly blacked out.

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

When Jasmine regained consciousness, she was lying on the pool deck and a boy she didn't recognize was standing over her.

"Are you all right?" the boy asked when he saw she was awake.

"I think so," Jasmine said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Aladdin," he replied. "I'm the one who pulled you out of the pool."

It was then that Jasmine noticed he was dripping wet. "Thank you."

Jasmine slowly sat up and Aladdin put his arm around her to keep her steady. Pain shot through her head and she reached up to touch the cut. When she pulled her hand away, her fingertips were covered in blood. Aladdin handed her a towel. Jasmine gently placed the towel on her cut and looked around. She didn't see the orange-haired boy anywhere, but the dark-haired boy was on the other side of the pool getting yelled at by the goth girl. When the girl saw Jasmine, she grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him over.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked.

Jasmine nodded.

"My name is Meg and this is Gaston." She looked up at Gaston and then nudged him with her elbow.

Gaston sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry I pushed you in the pool."

"Ya know, it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been beating up..." Jasmine's sentence trailed off as she remembered Thomas. She quickly scanned the area, but didn't see him anywhere. "Where's Thomas?"

"Snow White took him to see Dr. Clopin," the orange-haired boy said, coming over to them.

"Why haven't you two gotten in trouble?" Jasmine demanded.

"He covered for us," the orange-haired boy said. "He's not so bad for a fag."

Meg immediately shoved him and shot him a dirty look. "Knock it off, Hercules!"

"Come on, we should get you to Dr. Clopin, too," Aladdin said. He helped Jasmine up and kept his arm around her as they made their way to the medical center.

"What happened to her?" Nurse Chicha asked as soon as Jasmine and Aladdin walked into the office.

"She fell and hit her head," Aladdin said.

"I'll take her from here," Nurse Chicha said.

The nurse led Jasmine into a room where Dr. Clopin was standing with his back to them.

"Doctor, I've got another one for you," Nurse Chicha said.

Dr. Clopin turned around and frowned. "Have a seat on the table."

Jasmine did as she was told and the nurse left the room.

"What's your name?" Clopin asked, putting some alcohol on a cotton ball.

"Jasmine."

Clopin started dabbing her cut and she winced in pain. "What happened, Jasmine?" he asked.

"I fell and hit my head on the pool deck."

Clopin nodded. "The cut isn't bad; you won't need stitches or anything."

"How is Thomas?" Jasmine asked him.

Clopin frowned again and stepped away from Jasmine. It was then that she noticed there was a bed on the other side of the room and Thomas was lying in it. She hopped off the table and hurried over to him. He had a black eye and his lower lip was cut and swollen.

"Thomas? Thomas, sweetie, are you all right?" Jasmine asked, quietly.

Thomas nodded. "I have a couple broken ribs, but I'm fine."

Jasmine narrowed her eyes at him. "Why did you cover for those jerks?"

"I don't want to start anything with them," Thomas said. He then gave her a wary look. "Why is your head bleeding?"

"Oh. I tried to stop Gaston, but he pushed me and I hit my head before falling into the pool," Jasmine replied.

"Jasmine, you shouldn't have done that," Thomas said.

"It was the least I could do after slapping you." Jasmine bit her lip and looked down. "I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"Don't be; I deserved it."

"How 'bout tomorrow when we get together we just start all over?" Jasmine suggested.

Thomas smiled at her. "I'd like that."


	10. Chapter 10

**One Month Later... **

Meg collapsed on her bed with a sigh. Just like everyday that she's been at The Smith House, she didn't get any visitors. Meg couldn't help feeling a little sad about this. Her parents had promised to visit her, but so far hadn't. It wasn't like her parents not to keep a promise... Although, it wasn't like them to send their daughter away, either.

Meg rolled over and that was when she noticed Cinderella was rummaging through their closet. She was taking all of her clothes off the hangers and draping them over her arm. When Cinderella walked out of the closet, Meg sat up.

"What are you doing?" Meg asked her.

Cinderella set her clothes down and then pulled her suitcase out from under her bed. "Maleficent told me my step mother is picking me up tomorrow."

"Really?"

Cinderella nodded as she unzipped her suitcase. "I guess she and my step sisters miss having a servant."

Meg watched Cinderella neatly fold her clothes. "At least you're getting out of here."

Cinderella put a shirt in her suitcase, then looked up at Meg. "I don't know, Meg. It seems kind of weird to me. My step mom couldn't wait to get rid of me and now all of sudden she's taking me back before my time here has ended. It doesn't feel right."

"I think you're reading too much into this," Meg said.

Cinderella nodded slowly as she continued to pack her clothes. "Maybe."

A long, awkward silence fell over them and Meg started to feel uncomfortable.

Meg cleared her throat as she stood up. "I think I'm gonna go for a swim before lights out."

"Have fun, Meg," Cinderella told her.

Meg quickly changed into her bikini, then made her way down to the pool. When she got there, she saw two other students had the same idea she did. A muscular boy with dreadlocks was sitting on the edge of the pool while a girl with tan skin and long black hair was standing in the pool, talking to him. She recognized them from her small group, but they had never talked during the meetings, so she didn't know their names. Meg grabbed a towel off the rack and dropped it on a nearby chair. She then slowly walked down the steps into the pool. The water was cold, but it felt good after being stuck in the stuffy building all day. The other two students looked over at Meg and the girl smiled at her.

"Hello," the girl said. She had a little bit of an accent, but Meg couldn't tell what it was.

"Hi," Meg responded.

"My name is Pocahontas and this is my brother, Tarzan."

"Meg."

Pocahontas nodded. "You're in our small group. The Satan worshipper, right?"

Meg laughed. "Right. At least, ya know, that's what my parents say."

Pocahontas smiled at her, but Tarzan remained stern and expressionless.

"Am I interrupting?" Meg asked, after she noticed Tarzan's look.

"No, of course not," Pocahontas said. "Don't mind my brother. It's just that none of the other students have been very friendly towards us, so Tarzan is always on his guard."

Meg ran her hand over the surface of the water. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

Pocahontas glanced up at Tarzan, then looked back at Meg. "Well, our parents were both biologists and we spent a few months living in a jungle. But, our parents died of some disease while were there. Tarzan and I were able to pull our money, plus some cash our parents had on them, and get back home. Since we were underage orphans, we were immediately taken from our home and put into the foster system. However, when they learned we had been living in the jungle, they automatically assumed we were uncivilized and sent us here instead."

"I'm sorry," Meg said, quietly. She didn't really know what else to say.

"It's okay," Pocahontas said. "We'll be eighteen by the time we leave here and we'll be on our own."

"If it makes you feel any better, you don't seem uncivilized to me," Meg said.

"Haven't you heard any of the rumors going around about us?" Tarzan asked.

Meg was slightly surprised to hear Tarzan speak. "Actually, no; I don't really socialize with anyone."

"Some of them are saying we're cannibals," Tarzan said. "Some say we have an incest relationship and others think we go out every night and hunt animals down with our teeth."

"That one's my favorite," Pocahontas said with a small laugh.

Meg couldn't help but laugh, too. "People are ridiculous."

Pocahontas nodded. "Well, it's almost time for lights out; we're gonna head to our rooms."

"It was nice meeting you two," Meg said.

"You, too," Pocahontas said.

After they left, Meg glanced up at the clock hanging on the tiled wall; it was nine-thirty. She decided to give herself a couple more minutes before heading back to her room. She rested her head back on the edge of the pool and let her legs float out in front of her. She closed her eyes and focused on moving her arms to keep herself afloat. It didn't take long for her to start daydreaming. Mostly she thought about Gaston and the affair they had been keeping up for the last month. Meg had to admit she was having fun with Gaston, but she didn't particularly like him. He was rude and conceited and just an all-around jerk. But, damn, did he make her feel good.

Someone cleared their throat, startling Meg. She slipped under the water, then quickly pulled herself back up to the surface. She wiped the water off her face with her hands, then blinked up at the man standing above her. He was tall with blonde hair and the most vivid blue eyes she had ever seen. He was very handsome and looked like he belonged in a movie or in a magazine. Meg had never seen him before, so she was pretty sure he wasn't a student there. He crouched down and continued to give her an expressionless look.

"Shouldn't you be heading back to your room?" he asked.

Meg looked behind her at the clock and then back at the man. "I still have twenty minutes until lights out."

The man just stared at Meg and she nervously ran her hand over her hair.

"Who are you, anyway?" she asked.

"John Smith. My father owns this place," he replied.

"Of course he does." Meg pulled herself out of the pool and picked up her towel. She quickly dried off and wrapped the towel around herself. "I guess I'll see you around, John Smith."

John nodded and Meg gave him a small smile before hurrying back to her room.


	11. Chapter 11

"I'm sorry, Esmeralda, but after reviewing your file and talking to Maleficent, I can't permit you to leave early," John said. "Due to the extremity of your case, I have to fail your evaluation and order that you stay here for the full six month term."

"What?" Esmeralda cried. "No!"

"That is all Esmeralda, please leave," John said.

"You can't _do _this. _Please_?" Esmeralda pleaded.

John motioned for Jafar to come into the office to escort Esmeralda out. He reached out to grab her arm, but she pulled it away. She stood up and ran out of the office.

Esmeralda stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her. She groaned in frustration and started pacing back and forth.

"What's _wrong _with you?"

Esmeralda stopped pacing and looked over at Snow White. She was clearly in the middle of packing; she had an open bag on her bed and she was holding a small stack of folded clothing.

"I failed John's stupid evaluation," Esmeralda snapped. "Evidently spending a couple days in the 'crazy' room is enough to keep me here for the full six months."

"I passed," Snow White said flatly as she stuffed her clothes in her bag. "I'm going home tomorrow."

Esmeralda felt her mouth drop open. "How is that even possible? You're legitimately screwed up in the head and _you _get to leave? That's not fair!"

Snow White shrugged and continued packing. Esmeralda sighed and walked out of the room. She couldn't believe Snow White was being released early while she was stuck there for the full time. Esmeralda threw open the door and made her way up the staircase to the tower. She hadn't gone up there since she was let out of room 49, but now she had to prove to herself that she wasn't crazy. As she rounded the corner, she saw the red-haired girl sitting on the stairs. She was on the same step she had seen her on before, staring at the chalk letters on the step below her. Now there were six lowercase _a_'s with lines through them. After the row of crossed out _a_'s was an arrow pointing to another lowercase _a_, but this one didn't have a line through it. Esmeralda took another step towards the girl. The girl turned and looked at Esmeralda. She started to stand up, but Esmeralda stopped her.

"You don't have to be afraid," Esmeralda said gently.

The girl didn't move, she just stared at Esmeralda.

"My name is Esmeralda."

The girl looked down and pointed at the _a _she had drawn without the line through it. Esmeralda sat down on the step below the one she had drawn on.

"Does your name start with _a_?" Esmeralda asked.

The girl gave one, short nod.

"Can you not speak?" Esmeralda asked.

The girl suddenly looked very sad and she put her hand on throat.

"Maybe I can try guessing your name," Esmeralda suggested. "If I get it wrong, shake your head. If I get it right, nod. Okay?"

The girl nodded.

"Amanda? Ashley?" She shook her head. "Amber? Alexa?" She shook her head. Esmeralda thought for a moment and realized she didn't know very many names starting with _a_. "Abby? Allison? Anna? Amy?" The girl shook her head.

Esmeralda was about to continue guessing when movement in the upstairs room caught both of their attention. The girl suddenly looked panicked. She reached down, scribbled something on Esmeralda's jeans with the chalk, then ran up to the room. Esmeralda quickly made her way back downstairs. When she was safely in her room, she looked down at what the girl had written on her jeans. _Ariel. _Esmeralda slipped off the jeans and stuck them in a drawer. They were the only proof she had that there was actually someone up in the tower and she didn't want to risk the chalk coming off.

Esmeralda put on her pajamas and got in bed. Of course she knew that a chalk scribble wouldn't be enough to prove she wasn't crazy. She would need someone else to see Ariel as well. She wondered if she could convince her partner, Adam, to have one of their meetings in the staircase. She had never been in the staircase during the day and she wasn't sure if Ariel would be sitting there at that time, but it was worth a shot.

Snow White came into the room and quietly closed the door behind her. She lied down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Esmeralda rolled over and propped her head up in her hand.

"Are you excited about going back home?" Esmeralda asked.

"I'm going home to a step mother who tried killing me." Snow White turned her head so she was facing Esmeralda. "Would _you _be excited to go home to that?"

"I guess not."

"I'd rather stay here," Snow White said. "It's really not that bad here."

"I hate it here," Esmeralda said. "I miss Phoebus and Zephyr so much."

"Zephyr's your son?" Snow White asked.

Esmeralda nodded. "I can't wait to see him again."

"You'll see him soon. You won't be here forever," Snow White said.

"I know that," Esmeralda said. "It's just hard for me to be away from him so long. To be honest, I'm starting to forget what he looks like."

"You'll be fine," Snow White said, almost bitterly.

"Do you think anyone has ever tried running away from here?" Esmeralda asked.

"I doubt it," Snow White replied. "This isn't a bad place; it's not like it's a prison or something."

"Easy for you to say; they didn't lock _you _up," Esmeralda said.

Snow White sat up. "I never gave them reason to."

"I don't know, Snow White. There's definitely something going on here. That girl in the tower is _real. _I saw her- I _talked_ to her. Why are they lying to us about her?" Esmeralda asked.

Snow White reached under pillow and pulled out a pocket knife. "Talking like that is what got you locked up."

"Because I'm on to them," Esmeralda hissed. "They want everyone to think I'm crazy so no one else gets suspicious of them."

Snow White started playing the knife. "Or maybe you're actually crazy. Let's face it, Esmeralda; no one gets sent to a place like this just because they got pregnant as a teenager."


	12. Chapter 12

When she was sure Belle was asleep, Jasmine quietly got out of bed and snuck out of the room. She crept down the hall, careful not to make any noise. She took a deep breath, then tip-toed down the stairs. She looked around, then stuck to the shadows as she made her way towards the library. Once inside the library, she ran across it to the window. She slid it open, then slipped out of it. She closed the window, then hurried to the back of the building. Aladdin was waiting for her, as he had been every night for the last two weeks. After the day Aladdin had pulled her out of the pool, Jasmine started hanging out with him more. She felt an attraction to him almost immediately, but kept it to herself. Not only was she hesitant about getting into a relationship with someone, but Maleficent had also made it very clear that there was no dating allowed among the students. However, when Aladdin told her two weeks ago that he really liked her; she had to admit she liked him as well. Since dating wasn't allowed, Jasmine had been meeting Aladdin after lights out every night for the last two weeks.

"Hey," Aladdin greeted when he saw her.

"Hi," Jasmine whispered.

The Smith House sat on top of a small hill and they usually snuck down to the bottom of the hill to keep from getting caught. Aladdin slid down the hill, then reached up and helped Jasmine down. It was a dark night and they couldn't see anything in front of them. Not that there was much to see, anyway; at the bottom of the hill was just a large clearing that eventually led to woods.

"Sorry I was late," Jasmine said once they sat down and got settled. "Belle stayed awake longer then usual tonight."

"It's all right," Aladdin said. "I would have waited all night for you."

Jasmine smiled at him, even though she knew he couldn't see her. It still amazed Jasmine how sweet Aladdin was. She had told him what happened to her and since then he had been taking things slow and being careful not to romantically touch her in any way. At first, Jasmine was really appreciated that but now part of her wanted to take things a little bit further.

Once Jasmine's eyes adjusted to the dark, she reached out and took Aladdin's hand. He smiled at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. That simple act caused Jasmine's heart to race and she found herself wanting him to kiss her. She leaned towards him and paused, hoping he would come the rest of the way and kiss her. Aladdin picked up on Jasmine's hint and he leaned in to her. But just as Aladdin was about to kiss her, a dim flickering light fell over them. They quickly pulled away from each other and darted into the shadows.

Jasmine glanced up at the top of the hill, but didn't see anybody. Aladdin stood up and hoisted himself up a little to look around. After a few moments, he jumped back down.

"Who's up there?" Jasmine whispered.

"No one; the light is coming from a basement window," Aladdin replied.

"I didn't even know there _was _a basement," Jasmine said.

"Neither did I," Aladdin said. "Come on, let's check it out."

Aladdin pulled himself up, then reached his hand out to Jasmine. It was then that Jasmine suddenly disliked his adventurous side. With a sigh, Jasmine slipped her hand into his. They made sure no one else was around, then ran over to the building. They crouched down next to the window and peeked inside.

Much to Jasmine's surprise the room looked like a mad scientist's lab from a movie; with the exception of a small table below the window that had a deck of tarot cards spread out over it. As she looked around, though, she also noticed a few shelves on the other side of the room that held rows of voodoo dolls.

"What is this place?" Jasmine asked quietly.

"I don't know," Aladdin replied.

Jasmine was about suggest they leave, when two men walked into the room. When they got a little closer to the window, Jasmine could make out what they looked like, but she didn't recognize either of them. One was incredibly tall and skinny with dark tan skin and looked to be quite a bit older than the other one. In fact, the other boy looked like he was younger than Jasmine. She would have thought he was a student there as well, but she had never seen him before. He must have been cute at one point, but right then his red hair was messy and oily, he was wearing dirty, ripped clothes, his skin was ashen and his eyes looked sunken in.

The tall man forced the young boy to sit in a large chair. The boy was obviously too weak to disobey and sat still as the man strapped his wrists to the arms of the chair. The tall man walked over to a table and slipped on a pair of plastic gloves. Jasmine wanted to look away, but fear kept her eyes drawn to the tall man as he picked up a syringe off the table. He walked over to the boy, who now started struggling. The man tapped the syringe, then stuck it into the boy's arm. The boy's face twisted in agony and his body started twitching. Blood trickled from the boy's ear and some sort of foamy liquid poured out of his mouth. Then, suddenly, the boy just stopped moving. Jasmine couldn't help letting out a small scream. Aladdin quickly put his hand over her mouth and pulled her away from the window. He stood motionlessly in the shadows with his back pressed against the building and his arm wrapped tightly around Jasmine. A couple tears rolled down Jasmine's cheeks and Aladdin kept his hand over her mouth.

"Honey, I'm gonna move my hand and we're gonna make a run for it back to the window," Aladdin said. "But you've _got _to be quiet, okay?"

Jasmine nodded. Aladdin slowly removed his hand from her mouth, then grabbed her hand and they ran back towards the library window. Once they were inside, they crept quietly and slowly through the building. They didn't see anybody and managed to get to Jasmine's room without running into any trouble. Jasmine was grateful Aladdin for walking her to her room, but she worried about him sneaking back down to his room.

"Be careful," she whispered.

Aladdin took both of her hands in his and kissed them. "I'll be fine. I'll see you in the morning."

Jasmine nodded and slipped into her room. She collapsed on her bed and sobbed silently into her pillow.


	13. Chapter 13

Meg stared blankly at her math homework, then wrote down her best guess for the answer, knowing it was most likely wrong. She then glanced around her now half empty room. Cinderella had left that morning after breakfast and this was the first time Meg has really been alone since she got to The Smith House and she was enjoying it.

That was cut short, however, when her door slammed open. Maleficent stood stiffly in the doorway and glared at Meg.

"You're moving across the hall to room 604. Pack your things and move immediately." With that Maleficent turned on her heel and walked away.

Meg swore under her breath, but started packing up her stuff. When she was done, she hesitantly walked across the hall. The door was closed and she lightly knocked on it.

"Come in."

Meg pushed open the door. Esmeralda was lying on her stomach on the floor, doing her homework. She didn't look up when Meg came in.

"I'm your new roommate," Meg said.

Esmeralda nodded, but still didn't look up. "Maleficent told me you were coming." She pointed behind here. "That bed is yours."

Meg didn't think it was really necessary for Esmeralda to point it out since one bed was cluttered with clothing and one was neatly made. But, nonetheless, she thanked Esmeralda politely and started unpacking.

The girls worked on their homework silently until activity time, then Meg quickly hurried out of their room and went to the classroom to meet Gaston. He was already there and greeted her with an urgent kiss. She welcomed it and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pushed her backwards and pinned her against the wall. The impact of the concrete wall against her back hurt her and she let out a small groan of pain. Gaston took it as a moan of pleasure and didn't ease up. Meg pushed the pain to the back of her mind and focused on kissing Gaston. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His mouth trailed down to her neck and she pulled him closer to her. It didn't take long for his hands to wander over her body. His hand slid up her skirt and he let out a low growl when he realized she wasn't wearing panties. He quickly undid his jeans and let them fall to the floor before aggressively claiming her body.

**:::X:::X:::X::**

Meg sat on one of the desks as she watched Gaston pull his jeans back on. He then leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk on either side of Meg. He smiled at her and kissed her. She ran her hand through his hair. He then sat down on the desk next to her.

"I can't believe Cinderella and Snow White already got to leave," Meg muttered after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"I heard their step moms signed them out," Gaston said. Meg nodded to acknowledge that was correct. "I guess failing the evaluation doesn't really matter if our parents sign us out."

"I guess not," Meg said. "My parents won't sign me out, though."

"Mine either."

Meg bit her lip. "Have your parents come to visit you at all?"

Gaston lowered his head and stared at his hands. "No. They're too ashamed of me."

"Mine haven't, either," Meg said. "They promised they would, though."

"They probably only said that to keep you from getting angry at them for sending you here," Gaston said.

"That doesn't really sound like something they would do." Meg repositioned herself on the desk so she was facing Gaston. "They're actually very caring and it seems odd that they would drop me off here and then never check on me."

"Maybe they're just giving you some time to make progress." There was a hint of annoyance in Gaston's voice.

Meg didn't say anything else. She forgot that she and Gaston weren't really friends and he didn't actually care about her life prior to coming here. Meg suddenly missed Cinderella. She always listened to Meg when she wanted to get something off her chest, which wasn't often but it was still nice to have someone to talk to. Now all she had was Gaston and it was pretty obvious he had no interest in having a conversation with her. He was only hanging out with her right now because they still had twenty minutes left of the activity period and they had to spend the whole time together.

The classroom door slowly opened then. Meg and Gaston looked over at it.

"I don't think anyone's in here." Meg recognized the voice and knew it was Hercules.

The light flicked on and Meg blinked rapidly at the sudden brightness.

"Oh, hey, guys," Hercules greeted when he saw Meg and Gaston. "We didn't know anyone else was in here."

When Meg's eyes finally adjusted to the light she noticed Flynn was standing next to Hercules. The two of them must have been reassigned as partners since Cinderella and Snow White left.

"Are we interrupting?" Flynn asked, winking at Meg.

Meg rolled her eyes. "Yeah right."

"You were Cinderella's roommate, right?" Hercules asked.

Meg nodded. "Yeah, I was."

"Did you find it strange that her step mom came to pick her up early?" Hercules asked.

"Not really. But, she did."

Flynn nodded. "Yeah, I found it odd, too. I mean, with everything she told me about her step mom, it doesn't make sense that she would ever want Cinderella back."

"Snow White had the same concerns about _her _step mother, too," Hercules said.

Meg gave both of them a wary look. "Shouldn't you guys be focusing more on getting yourselves out of here and less on the motives of Cinderella and Snow White's step mom's?"

"Look, Snow White was my partner and I'm worried about what her stepmother will do to her when they get back home," Hercules said. "She already tried killing Snow once. I wish there was something I could do to help her"

Meg just stared at Hercules; sometimes he really confused her. One minute he's beating up some poor kid for being gay and then the next he wants to play hero.


	14. Chapter 14

"...So, after losing my temper like that, I was sent here for anger management."

Esmeralda was only half listening to Adam. It was just about four o'clock and she couldn't wait for visitation. Phoebus had come to see her almost every day since she had been there (with the exception of when she was locked in room 49 a month ago). As soon as it was four o'clock, Esmeralda hurried away from Adam and ran to the visitation area. The visitation room looked a lot like a visiting area in prison. It had a bullet-proof glass divider down the entire length of the room that stretched from the floor to the ceiling and had clear plastic dividers every two feet. On the far left of the room was a cage-like door that led to the other side of the glass. On the visitors' side of the room was one of only two exits out of The Smith House that led outside of the fenced-in perimeter of the building.

Giselle, one of the visitor supervisors, led Esmeralda to one of the sections. Esmeralda sat down and watched as the other supervisor, John Rolfe, frisked Phoebus on the other side of the glass. Phoebus then sat down across from Esmeralda and John walked away.

"Hi, baby," Esmeralda greeted.

"Hi."

Esmeralda hadn't really been expecting more of a greeting from him. He was always flat and emotionless when he came to see her. There was a small hole in the glass so they could talk to each other and Esmeralda put her fingers through it, reaching out to Phoebus. He lightly ran his index finger over her fingers, but then pulled his hand back.

"I miss you," Esmeralda told him. "I hate it here; I can't wait to go home."

"Have you gotten any better?" Phoebus asked.

"Better?"

Phoebus nodded. "You can't leave 'till you get better."

"Phoebus, there's nothing wrong with me."

Phoebus frowned. "Essie, you have _got_ to snap out of this denial. These people can't help you if you stay in this state."

"What are you talking about?"

Phoebus didn't say anything; he just gave her a sad look.

Esmeralda nibbled on her lower lip. "I want to see Zephyr. Why don't you ever bring our son to visit me?"

Now Phoebus looked hurt, almost like he was going to start crying. "Esmeralda, you know I can't do that."

"Why not?" Esmeralda demanded. "I want to see him. You have to bring him to me."

"Please stop," Phoebus whispered.

"No!" Esmeralda's voice was getting louder. "You can't keep him from me!"

"God dammit, Esmeralda!" Phoebus shouted, banging his fist against the glass. "That's enough! You are clearly not getting any better and I can't keep going through this." He stood up. "I won't be coming to visit you anymore."

John Rolfe had now come over to Phoebus and started leading him towards the door. Esmeralda stood up and pressed her hands against the glass.

"Phoebus, please don't this!" Esmeralda called after him. "I'm sorry! Come back!"

Phoebus didn't look back at Esmeralda as he walked outside.

"I love you," Esmeralda whispered, staring at the door.

Giselle gently took Esmeralda's arm and slowly led her out of the room.

_Why does everyone think I'm crazy? _Esmeralda wondered as she made her way upstairs.

When she walked past the boys' floor, she noticed Adam sitting alone in the hallway.

"Hey, Adam," Esmeralda greeted, walking towards him.

Adam looked up. "What's up?"

"I need you to do me a big favor."

"What is it?"

"Come with me."

Adam stood and followed Esmeralda upstairs. She paused outside the small door, and turned to face Adam.

"We have to be quiet," Esmeralda told him.

"What's up there?"

"The isolation room. Maleficent says there's no one up there, but I know I've seen a girl in the staircase. No one believes me, though."

Adam looked skeptical, but when Esmeralda opened the door he followed her. As usual, they were met with darkness. Esmeralda kept her hand on the wall to guide her until she got closer to the top and the familiar dim glow greeted them.

Much to Esmeralda's relief, when they rounded the corner she saw Ariel sitting on the steps. Ariel looked up. At first she didn't react to seeing Esmeralda, but when she saw Adam come up behind her, she quickly tried to get away. Esmeralda reached out and gently grabbed her hand.

"Please, wait," Esmeralda said. "This is Adam; he won't hurt you."

Ariel stared at Adam and Adam stared back at her.

"You see her?" Esmeralda asked Adam.

Adam slowly nodded. "Yes."

Ariel looked at Esmeralda, with a confused expression.

"Maleficent told us that room up there is empty and no one believed me when I told them I saw you," Esmeralda explained to her.

All of a sudden they heard the door the staircase slam open. Ariel tried to run, but Esmeralda was still holding her hand. She let go and Ariel ran up to her room. They heard someone walking up the stairs, and Adam stood protectively in front of Esmeralda. A young woman with black hair rounded the corner and stopped short when she saw Esmeralda and Adam.

"You're not supposed to be up here," the woman said. She reached out and pressed a small button the wall that Esmeralda had never noticed before.

Esmeralda and Adam tried to step around her to get away, but the staircase was so narrow that the woman had very little trouble blocking their path. A few minutes later, the door below them opened and footsteps hurried up towards them. On instinct, Esmeralda took a step backwards. Maleficent and Jafar appeared behind the woman and she started up the stairs, past Adam and Esmeralda.

"You were warned," Maleficent told Esmeralda.

"You can't keep Ariel a secret," Esmeralda said. "Adam has seen her; I'm not crazy."

Maleficent looked at Adam, then up at the woman behind them. "That is all, Mulan. Thank you."

Esmeralda heard Mulan continue upstairs, but she didn't turn around to look at her. Maleficent and Jafar grabbed Esmeralda and Adam and dragged them downstairs. Once on the main floor, Jafar brought Adam towards Maleficent's office while Maleficent led Esmeralda down the hall. Esmeralda kept her eyes on Adam as more distance grew between them. He remained expressionless and kept his eyes on Esmeralda as well.

Esmeralda stumbled slightly when they stopped suddenly. She looked up to see they were standing outside room 49.

"No, please!" Esmeralda pleaded, trying to get her wrist free from Maleficent's grasp. "Please don't lock me up again!"

Maleficent unlocked the door and then turned to glare at Esmeralda. "Obviously only two days in here wasn't enough for you."

Maleficent threw Esmeralda into the room and she landed on her hands and knees on the floor. This time she didn't go after the door as it shut behind her. She listened to Maleficent lock the door and watched her walk away from the small window. Esmeralda brought her knees up to her chest, then wrapped her arms around herself and started crying.


	15. Chapter 15

Everyone was just finishing up dinner, when Maleficent walked into the cafeteria. The noisy chatter slowly died down as each student turned to face her. Following closely behind maleficent was Dr. Clopin, who was carrying a tray with several tiny cups on it.

When the cafeteria was silent, Maleficent spoke up. "You have all been here over a month and we've noticed that some of you have not progressed at all in that time. After speaking with your parents, we have been given permission to give those of you who have not progressed medication that will help you."

This caused quite a stir among the students. Jasmine felt a little uneasy. She wasn't sure if they thought she had progressed, but if she hadn't what kind of medication could they possibly give her that would help her? She was sent there because her father accused her of lying about being raped. Was there a medication to help cure lying? It didn't seem likely.

"If I call out your name, you must come up here immediately and take your pills." Maleficent picked up a sheet of paper off the tray Dr. Clopin was holding. "Aurora."

Aurora tilted her head to the side and stared at Maleficent for a moment before walking over to her.

"This will help you get back in your right mind," Maleficent said, handing her one of the cups that had the letter _A_ written on it with black magic marker.

Aurora swallowed the pills and walked back to her table.

"Philip." When Philip walked up to her, Maleficent handed him the cup with the letter _P_ on it. "This will help you get through your withdrawals."

Philip quickly took his pills, then took his seat next to Aurora.

"Adam and Hercules." The two of them made their way up to her and the cups with their initials written on it. "These will help you boys control your anger."

Hercules obediently took his right away. Adam hesitated for a moment, but then took his as well.

"Belle."

Belle walked up to Maleficent and took her cup. "Is this for my depression?" she asked.

"Yes, dear."

Belle took her pills. "Thank you."

"Charlotte."

Charlotte slowly walked up to Maleficent, clearly unhappy about having to take medication.

Maleficent held out her cup. "This will help with your appetite."

"My appetite is fine."

"Take the pills, Charlotte."

"No."

Maleficent narrowed her eyes. "Either take them willingly, or take them by force. Those are your only options."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Maleficent and stared her down for a few seconds before finally taking the pills.

"And, finally, Kida."

Kida walked up to Maleficent and held out her hand. Maleficent dumped the pills into her hand she took them.

"From now on, those of you on the medication must report to Dr. Clopin every night before dinner to receive your pills. If you don't take them, you'll be sent to the detention center. That is all."

Jasmine waited until Maleficent and Dr. Clopin were gone before breathing a sigh or relief. When dinner was over, Jasmine and Aladdin walked out of the cafeteria together and headed towards the back of the building, to the courtyard. As they were walking down the hall, a door slowly creaked open. At first they couldn't see who was coming out of the doorway, but when he was finally visible, Aladdin and Jasmine quickly ducked into the nearest room. It was the man they had seen the other night in the basement. Jasmine and Aladdin peeked out the window on the door of the room they were hiding in and waited until the man was out of sight before coming out.

"Who _is_ that man?" Jasmine asked.

Aladdin shrugged. They continued walking down the hall, but Aladdin paused outside the door the man had come out of. If they hadn't seen him walk out, they would not have known there was a door there; it blended in perfectly with the wall. Even the doorknob and hinges had been painted to blend in.

Aladdin put his hand on the doorknob. "Come on."

"What? No way!" Jasmine hissed.

"Don't you want to know what's going on?" Aladdin asked.

Jasmine nervously looked down the hall. "No..."

"Well, I'm going to check it out."

Aladdin opened the door so there was barely enough space for him to slip in. Jasmine bit her lip and quickly followed him. Aladdin closed the door and they walked down the steep staircase. The stairs led into the room they had seen the other night. The window was now covered with a thick black curtain and the boy was gone, but the rest of the room looked exactly the same. Aladdin instantly started checking out the table. Jasmine hung back by the door. She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the wall. She noticed then that she was next to the shelves on the wall that she had seen before. She looked up at them and almost immediately felt sick. The shelves were lined with Voodoo dolls that looked like the students. With a shaky hand, Jasmine reached out and picked up the doll that looked like her. She ran her hand over the hair of the doll and shuttered when she realized it was her own hair. She didn't even remember having her hair cut since she had been there.

"Jasmine, check this out."

Jasmine held the doll close to her and walked over to Aladdin, who was now standing in front of a closed door.

"Look, there's another door- What is that?" Aladdin pointed at the doll in Jasmine's hands.

"He has Voodoo dolls of all of us." Jasmine fought back her fearful tears.

"You have to put it back."

"Why?"

"Because he'll notice it's missing, which means he'll not only know someone was down here, but he'll know who it was."

Jasmine looked down at the doll, then brought it back to the shelf. As she was setting it on the shelf, they heard the door above them close. Aladdin quickly grabbed Jasmine's hand and they darted into the shadows on the other side of the staircase. Jasmine's heart was pounding and she desperately wished he wouldn't hear it. They heard the man coming closer and Aladdin put his arm protectively in front of Jasmine, pushing her further behind him. She leaned against his back and put her hand over her mouth. The man paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked around. He was only two feet away from them and Jasmine saw he had a doctor's badge clipped to his shirt that said Dr. Facilier. Jasmine held her breath and remained completely still. Seeing him again caused the memory of the red-haired boy to come rushing back.

The man made his way to the other door. Just as he opened it, Jasmine realized she was too afraid to see what was on the other side. She quickly buried her face against Aladdin's back. She heard the other door close and Aladdin started leading her up the stairs. Jasmine didn't let herself breathe again until they were a safe distance from the basement door.


	16. Chapter 16

Meg wrapped her towel tightly around her as she walked down to the pool. One other person was at the pool and they were swimming laps back and forth. Meg dropped her towel on one of the chairs and slowly lowered herself into the water. Whoever was swimming stopped short next to her. He stood up and Meg realized it was Eric. She was a little surprised to see there wasn't a girl nearby swooning over him. Meg, like every other girl at The Smith House, thought Eric was good-looking, but she already had a thing going on with Gaston and that was more than enough for her, so she didn't ever try flirting with Eric. In fact, she had never really talked to him before now.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you," Meg said.

Eric wiped the water off his face with his hand. "It's okay."

"You're not surrounded by your usual group of fangirls," Meg pointed out.

"And you're not at your Hades shrine."

Meg raised an eyebrow at him. He flashed her a smile and winked at her. Meg laughed.

"You know why I'm here, but I don't know why you're here," Meg said. "Doesn't seem fair."

"Yours is obvious."

Eric looked at little uneasy after saying this, like he thought he had just insulted her. Normally, Meg would try to make the person feel bad for saying something like that, but Meg let it slide with Eric. Instead she just said, "I suppose it is."

Eric relaxed a little bit and lowered himself further into the water so it was now up to his shoulders. Neither of them said anything while Meg waited for Eric to tell her why he was there. When he didn't, Meg decided to leave him alone. She dove under the water and swam to the other side of the pool. The water was much deeper at the other end, and Meg couldn't touch the bottom without going completely under the water. She leaned back against the wall and propped her elbows up on the ledge. Eric pulled himself out of the pool and started walking towards the door. He then stopped and glanced back at Meg. She gave him a short nod to say good night, but he started walking around the pool towards her. He sat down on the edge and stuck his feet in the water. Meg repositioned herself so she was facing him.

"What's up?" Meg asked.

"Am I the only one who thinks there's something off about this place?" Eric asked.

"Personally, I don't," Meg replied. "But, no, you're not the only one. Hercules and Flynn do, too."

"I didn't either until Maleficent made it mandatory that some of the students take pills," Eric said. "It seems kind of weird."

"Well, they only have six months to make us better," Meg said. "And you know how some parents are; they'll agree to _anything _that they think will 'fix' their kid."

"No, I don't know how parents are," Eric muttered.

Meg tilted her head to the side. "Why are you here, Eric?"

Eric looked at her, then lowered himself into the water and slipped under the surface. Meg rolled her eyes and reached down for his arm. She pulled him back up, but didn't let go of his arm.

"It can't be that bad," Meg said.

"It's not as bad as some of the other reasons people are here," Eric said. "I just don't want any kind of sympathy or anything. It's really no big deal."

"I promise I won't be sympathetic at all," Meg told him. "I'll be completely indifferent."

"If I say no, are you going to beat it out of me?" Eric gave her a half smile.

"Nah. I'll just sic Hades on you."

Eric laughed. "Well, we don't want that."

"Nope."

"I'm an orphan," Eric finally said. "My parents died a few years ago and I was put into a foster home. My foster dad used to beat me, but I only had a year until I turned eighteen and could leave, so I put up with it. However, the school guidance counselor thought that the beatings were affecting me emotionally and she didn't think I was stable enough to live on my own. I ended up having to see a therapist. After a couple years, the therapist said I wasn't getting any better and thought it was a good idea if I came here."

"And do you feel like this place is helping you at all?"

"I didn't feel like I needed help in the first place.

"You and me both," Meg said. "And, evidently, we're not the only ones who feel that way."

"That doesn't strike you as odd? That most of us don't actually need help, but we're stuck here anyway and some of us have to take medication for a problem we don't even have?"

Meg hadn't really thought about it before, but now that she was it _did_ seem strange to her.

"It doesn't matter, though," Meg said. "There really isn't anything we can do."

Eric just looked at her, then climbed out of the pool. "Maybe not," he finally said. "But I'm sick of not having a say with my own life. Aren't you?"

Eric didn't wait for Meg to reply before walking away. Meg stared after him for a few moments, before pulling herself out of the pool. She went after Eric, pausing only briefly to grab her towel. She caught up to Eric just as they went inside.

"Do you have a plan?" Meg asked him as they approached the stairs. "Ya know, to take back control of your life..."

Eric held up his finger to his lips to shush her. She gave him a confused look as he grabbed her arm and pulled her down behind the staircase. He then pointed in front of them and Meg saw John Smith with two other men. One looked like he was about the same age John, the other was older than both of them.

"Robert, this is my father, Clayton Smith," John said to the younger man. "Dad, this is Robert Philip; he's an attorney."

The older man, Clayton, reached out his hand to Robert and Robert shook it.

"Thank you for coming so late, Robert," Clayton said.

"It's no problem," Robert replied.

"Please, come with us to my office." Clayton turned and started down the hallway; John and Robert followed after him.

Meg and Eric ducked further down as they walked past them. Once they were sure the men were gone, they came out from behind the stairs.

"Clayton must be the owner of this place," Meg said, remembering John telling her he was the son of the owner.

"Why is he having a meeting with an attorney at nine o'clock at night?" Eric asked.

Meg shrugged. "Let's find out."

The two of them quickened their pace down the hallway and stopped outside the only room they could hear voices coming from.

"And that's enough to keep me in the clear if this all falls apart?" Clayton asked.

"Yes, Mr. Smith. If things were to come to light, I will be able to make you look..." Robert paused as he searched for the word. "Ignorant, if you will."

"Perfect."

A heavy hand came down on Meg's shoulder and she jumped, dropping her towel. She and Eric spun around to see John standing behind them. Meg was more than surprised to see him, since she thought he was in the office with his dad and Robert. John whipped his head to the side, silently motioning for them to leave. Meg and Eric hurried away from him and didn't look back until they were back at the staircase. Meg shivered as she suddenly became aware of the fact that she was still wet.

"Okay... Let's say you're right," Meg said. "What's your plan?"

Eric stared down the hall. "I don't know."


	17. Chapter 17

Esmeralda sat on the bed in room 49, hugging her knees to her chest. She had no idea how long she had been in there. It was dark outside now and she guessed she had been in there a few hours, but it felt like so much longer. She leaned back and rested her head on the wall. Why had Phoebus acted like that towards her? And why couldn't she see her son? What was going on?

A light knock on the door window caused Esmeralda to sit straight up. She looked over at the door, but couldn't tell who was on the other side; all she could see was a hand knocking on the small window. Esmeralda walked over and peeked through the window. She was surprised to see Anastasia standing there. Anastasia looked around, then pressed a note card against the window. The note on the card had clearly been written in a hurry and it took Esmeralda a moment to make out the sloppy handwriting:

_Don't take the pills._

Anastasia pulled the note card down and balled it up in her fist. When Esmeralda made eye contact with her, she nodded to show Anastasia she understood the note. Anastasia gave her a small wave, then ran down the hall.

A few hours later- or perhaps only ten minutes, Esmeralda couldn't tell- Maleficent unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Come with me," Maleficent said.

Esmeralda followed Maleficent down to her office and took her usual seat in front of Maleficent's desk. Maleficent sat down and locked her fingers together. She had a folder with Esmeralda's name on it in front of her. Esmeralda couldn't help staring at it, wondering what exactly was written about her. What secrets did that folder know about her that she didn't even know about herself? Clearly there had to be something that made Maleficent think she was not only crazy, but also hallucinating.

"It seems you had quite the little outburst in visitation today," Maleficent said.

So, Esmeralda had been right; she had only been in room 49 for a few hours. She continued to stare at the folder, but didn't say anything.

"Esmeralda, I have decided it's best that I explain everything to you." Maleficent tapped the folder. "You need to know why you're here since you seemed to have put yourself deep in denial. Esmeralda, you're suppressing a memory; a very important one."

"And what memory would that be, ma'am?" Esmeralda didn't believe Maleficent, but at this point she knew better than to argue with her.

Maleficent flipped open the folder. "I don't know an easy way of telling you this, so I'm just gonna say it-"

"Please do."

A look of annoyance crossed Maleficent's face at being interrupted, but it quickly faded. "Esmeralda, you don't have a son...anymore."

Esmeralda tilted her head to the side. "I don't understand."

"You're here because you were diagnosed with severe postpartum depression," Maleficent explained. "When your son was six months, you snapped and killed him."

"What? You're lying!" Esmeralda shrieked. She resisted the urge to lunge over the desk. "Why are you saying this?"

"I'm not lying." Maleficent slid the folder in front of Esmeralda. "Afterwards you kept insisting that you were seeing him everywhere."

Esmeralda didn't look at the folder, she just glared at Maleficent. "Why are you doing this to me? Why are you punishing me?"

"I assure you, Esmeralda, what I'm telling you is the truth."

"It can't be. I think I would remember killing my son."

"They call it a suppressed memory for a reason." Maleficent was no longer trying to hide her annoyance.

Esmeralda finally glanced down at her file. Most of the words blurred together, but a select few popped out to her.

"_...strangled her six month old son, Zephyr."_

Esmeralda reached out and ran her fingers over the word strangled. Tears formed in her eyes, but she fought them back. It couldn't be true. How could she strangle her own son?

Esmeralda blinked back the stubborn tears and more of the details came into focus. According to the file she had done it by wrapping a purple scarf around his neck. She remembered the scarf; it was her favorite.

Maybe this was all true; maybe she killed her son and suppressed the memory. It would explain why Phoebus acted the way he did.

Hatred and anger towards herself welled up inside Esmeralda. She grabbed the folder and let out a scream as she threw it across the room. Papers flew out and were strew across the floor. The office door swung open and Jafar stormed in. He grabbed Esmeralda by the arms and started pulling her out of the room. Esmeralda struggled against him, not wanting to be locked in room 49 again. Although, if she really did kill her son, she deserved to be locked up some place much worse.

It wasn't until she was back in the room that she realized Maleficent had followed behind them. She was now holding a small cup with the letter E written on it.

Maleficent held the cup out to Esmeralda. "Take these; they'll help."

Esmeralda wrapped her hand around the cup, then tilted it into her mouth and swallowed. She crushed the cup in her hand and lifted her tongue so Maleficent could inspect her mouth and make sure she took the pills. When she was satisfied, Maleficent nodded at Jafar and the two of them left the room. Esmeralda looked out the window to make sure they were gone. She unballed her fist and looked down at the cup in her hands. Inside the cup, the pills were now smashed into powder. It was easier than she thought to fake taking the pills. Anastasia's note was a little unnerving, but Esmeralda was still grateful for the warning. She dumped the powder into the toilet and then flushed it. She lied down on the bed and pulled the scratchy blanket up over her. Everything she thought she knew was terrifyingly wrong. Not only was she crazy, but she was also a murderer.


	18. Chapter 18

Jasmine sat at one of the tables in the library, watching the librarian, Anita, place books on the shelves. There was no one else in the library and the silence felt heavy over Jasmine. She breathed a sigh of relief, though, when she saw Aladdin walk in. He had asked her to meet him there at the beginning of free time, but he was almost twenty minutes late. Anita glanced at Aladdin as he walked towards Jasmine, but when he sat down across from Jasmine, she continued to put her books away.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I got intercepted by Eric after dinner."

"It's all right. What did you want to talk about?"

Aladdin leaned forward and lowered his voice. "We can't talk here."

Jasmine looked up at Anita. "Where should we go?"

"Let's go back to my room; Eric won't be there."

Jasmine nodded, then followed Aladdin out of the library and up to his room. He closed the door behind them and shut out the chatter of the rest of the students. Aladdin motioned at his bed and Jasmine sat down. He sat down across from her on Eric's bed.

"Jasmine, we have to get out of here."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

"We'll sneak out after lights out."

"And, what, just climb over the barbed wire on the fence?"

"It's going to be difficult and will probably hurt, but it's better than ending up in Dr. Facilier's lab."

Jasmine studied Aladdin's face, trying to figure out whether or not he was serious. When she realized he was very serious, she nervously ran her hand through her hair.

"What about everybody else? We can't just leave them here."

"Once we're out, we'll call the police," Aladdin replied. "We can't worry about everyone else right now."

"I don't know, Aladdin... What if we get caught?"

Aladdin knelt down in front of Jasmine and took her hands. "Jasmine, listen to me; I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?"

Jasmine nodded. "When do you want to leave?"

"Tonight. Once everyone is asleep, we'll meet at our usual spot and make a break for it."

Jasmine started to agree, but stopped. "Where will we go? My dad sent me here; there's no way he'll let me just come back. And you said you're here because you're homeless and didn't have anywhere else to go."

"I don't know," Aladdin admitted. "But, we can figure that out later. The important thing is just to get out of here."

"All right. I'll meet you tonight."

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Jasmine spent the rest of their free time hanging out with Aladdin in his room. By the time Jasmine left to return to her own room, she was so nervous that she couldn't stop shaking.

"Jasmine, hey."

Jasmine looked up to see Thomas coming towards her.

"Hi, Thomas."

Jasmine's heart skipped a beat as she thought about how Thomas wouldn't be able to survive this place. She suddenly felt guilty for leaving him behind. The two of them had become good friends and she couldn't stand the thought of him being stuck here at the mercy of Dr. Facilier with no one to help him.

Jasmine blinked back her tears. "I should get back to my room."

"Good night, Jasmine," Thomas said. "I'll see you in the morning."

Jasmine nodded and hurried away. There were still a few minutes left of free time and there some stragglers in the hallway outside of the girls' rooms. Her bedroom door was closed and Jasmine assumed Belle was already asleep. Belle had been going to bed early lately and she said it was because she just couldn't wait for each day to be over.

Jasmine quietly opened the door and slipped inside. The room was dark and she carefully walked across the room. She stopped suddenly, though, when she ran into something heavy hanging from the ceiling. She fumbled with the lamp next to her bed until it finally clicked on.

Jasmine's stomach dropped and a weight crushed her lungs when she saw Belle hanging from their ceiling fan. She instantly stumbled backwards and crashed into the nightstand, causing the lamp to fall and smash against the floor. Jasmine was in darkness again, but she couldn't erase the image of Belle swinging limply in front of her. Tears poured from her eyes and she let out the scream she had been holding in for so long.

The door flew open and the overhead light switched on. Vanessa, whose room was across the hall, now stood in the doorway staring wide-eyed at Belle. Vanessa's roommate, Kida, rushed in behind her, followed by Meg whose room was next door.

Everything happened in slow motion, but still seemed like a blur. Vanessa, Kida and Meg got Belle down while Rapunzel went to get Maleficent. The rest of the girls gathered outside the bedroom, trying to see what was going on. Jasmine just sat on the floor next to her bed, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. When Maleficent finally arrived, she was followed by Dr. Clopin and they ushered Vanessa, Kida and Meg out of the room. Jasmine stared at Belle's lifeless body until Dr. Clopin covered her with a sheet. Jasmine squeezed her eyes shut and fresh tears streamed down.

After everyone had left, Jasmine sat alone in her room, smothered in the darkness. It wasn't until almost two hours later that she remembered she had to meet Aladdin. She quietly snuck out of her room and made her way to their meeting spot. Aladdin was waiting for her and his concerned expression turned to relief when he saw her.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to make it."

Jasmine collapsed into Aladdin's arms and hot tears fell from her eyes again. She clutched his shirt and buried her face against his chest. Aladdin wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.

"They killed her," Jasmine muttered. "They killed Belle."

"Belle was suicidal, Jasmine."

Jasmine shook her head and slowly pulled away from Aladdin. "Belle always tried killing herself by cutting her wrists."

"Jasmine, relax. You need to calm down so we can focus on getting out of here."

"No. I can't leave tonight. I'm scared, Aladdin."

"You're gonna be all right."

"You don't understand, Aladdin. It's my fault Belle's dead."

"No it's not-"

"Listen to me!" Jasmine hissed. "I told Belle about everything we've seen. They must have found out she knew and killed her!"

"Then they might come after you after next. We have to leave tonight."

"I can't. I don't deserve to live after Belle was killed because of me."

Aladdin brushed Jasmine's hair off her face and wiped her tears. "Get some sleep; you'll feel better tomorrow. We'll leave tomorrow night, okay?"

Jasmine started to shake her head, but Aladdin forced her to look up at him.

"You're going to be all right; I'm gonna get you out of here and keep you safe."

Jasmine choked back a sob. "You promise?"

"I promise." Aladdin pulled her back into his arms and held her protectively against him. He felt her body shake as she started sobbing and he rested his head on top of hers. "I promise."


	19. Chapter 19

All of their usual spots were occupied and Meg and Gaston were having a hard time finding a place to be alone. To be honest, Meg didn't care. She was kind of over hooking up Gaston every day. But, like always, Gaston's hormones were going crazy and he was getting frustrated the longer it took for them to find a secluded spot. At one point they had accidentally walked in on Vanessa and Helga making out and Gaston just stared at them until Vanessa threw her high heel at him. Yes; Meg was completely over Gaston.

Meg was pulled from her thoughts when Gaston grabbed her arm and threw her into a closet. She stumbled a little bit before losing her balance and falling backwards. Her fall was broken, however, when her back hit something hard.

"What the hell?" Meg demanded. "Was that really necessary?"

"Where are you?" Gaston asked. "I can't see a thing."

"Me either. Maybe you should have turned on a light before closing the door. Dumb brute."

Meg heard Gaston fumble around for a minute before finally turning the light on. Meg blinked her eyes rapidly as the adjusted to the sudden brightness. She looked around and realized the closet was much smaller than she had been expecting and the only thing in it was a file cabinet; which was what Meg had fallen against.

Meg thought about going through the file cabinet, but Gaston grabbed her and shoved her against the wall.

"Aren't you curious?" Meg asked him, nodding towards the file cabinet.

"No," Gaston muttered as kissed her neck.

Meg ignored what Gaston was doing to her and looked over at the file cabinet. Eventually her curiosity got the better of her and she pushed Gaston off her. "Well, I am."

The file cabinet was short, with only two drawers. The bottom drawer was locked, but the top one slid open easily. Meg ran her fingers over the top of the folders and realized they were the files for all the students.

"This is awesome," Meg muttered, pulling out a random folder. She looked at the name and saw it was Rapunzel's. Meg smiled to herself and flipped it open. "It says here Rapunzel ran away from home, so her mother sent her here as a punishment."

"So?" Gaston was now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Meg shrugged and set Rapunzel's folder on top of the cabinet. She went through the other files and pulled out Gaston's. "Let's see what it says about you." She opened it and read what was written about him. "It says after you were caught raping the last girl, five other girls came forward saying you raped them, too. Is that true?" She looked over at him.

"Of course not!"

Meg looked back down and continued reading. "It also says you're a compulsive liar." She snapped the folder shut and glared at Gaston. "Did you rape those girls?"

"No."

Meg gave him a look of disgust. "You're lying, aren't you? God, you're such a pig."

She dropped his folder on top of Rapunzel's and continued going through the other files. Most of them didn't contain anything she didn't already know. But, when she came across her new roommate, Esmeralda's file she couldn't help feeling disturbed.

"Oh Gods," she whispered.

"What is it?"

"Esmeralda is here because she suffered from postpartum depression and killed her son."

Now Gaston was curious. He walked up next to Meg and she showed him the file.

"She strangled him with a scarf," Gaston muttered as his eyes scanned over the page.

"No wonder she's been locked up. That's horrible."

There was only one folder left in the drawer and it was jammed in the back. Meg struggled to get it out at first, but eventually got it. She frowned when she read the name.

"Whose is it?" Gaston asked.

"Um... Ariel's?" Meg opened the folder and looked at the attached picture of a red-haired girl with big blue eyes. "I haven't seen her around here, have you?"

Gaston glanced at the photo. "No. She was probably here before us."

Meg started to agree, but then noticed the cycle date stamped on top of the paper. "No, look. It says she's here now."

Meg continued to read about the girl and the more she read, the more her hands started to shake. By the time she finished reading it, she nearly dropped the folder.

"What does it say?"

Meg took a moment to catch her breath. "It says she's in the isolation room in the tower because she's extremely dangerous."

"Why?"

"She killed her whole family. It says after she shot both her mom and her dad, she butchered her six older sisters with a knife. A couple of her sisters were so mutilated they could barely identify them. They found Ariel sitting in the ocean by their house; the water all around her was red from the blood on her. According to this she hasn't said a word since then."

"We've had a serial killer in here this whole time?"

"It looks that way," Meg said quietly, dropping the folder back on the drawer.

"It makes you wonder what's hidden in the locked drawer," Gaston said carefully as he watched Meg put the other folders away. He took a paper clip off one of the folders and used it to pick the lock on the bottom drawer.

Meg knelt down beside him as he opened the drawer. There weren't as many folders in this one as the top one.

"They're files on the staff," Meg stated, reaching for the file on the counselor, Jane Porter.

Gaston pulled out the file on Naveen and there were a few moments of silence as they both read.

"Holy shit," Meg muttered.

Gaston looked up at her. "I'm guessing you learned the same thing I did."

Meg and Gaston went through all of the files for the staff to verify what they learned was correct. It was.

"They were all students here," Gaston said.

Meg nodded slowly. "When Maleficent saw the improvement they made, she brainwashed them and hired them to work here. They probably don't even remember being students here."

"This place is twisted."

Meg pulled out the last file, which was much thicker than the other files. "This is Anastasia's. How can someone with no memory have such a large file?"

"Wait; look at this." Gaston pointed to the top of the first page. "It says 'experiment zero six two: am I sane'."

While Gaston continued to read the page, Meg stared at the words "am I sane" until the letters blurred together.

"Amnesia," Meg muttered.

"What?"

"Amnesia is an anagram for 'am I sane'..." Meg quickly skimmed each page in Anastsia's folder. After a few minutes, she closed it and dropped it on the floor. "Anastasia has been a student here for a couple years. At the end of each cycle, they brainwash her and re-enroll her."

"Why?"

"I don't know why." Meg bit her lip. "But they're definitely running experiments on her using brainwashing."


	20. Chapter 20

Esmeralda racked her brain for hours, trying so hard to remember what happened to Zephyr, but nothing came back to her. All she saw was that purple scarf lying on her dresser. The longer she sat in this room, alone with her the thoughts, the more she started to believe Maleficent. After all, why would Maleficent lie to her about something like that? And it definitely explained why Phoebus had been acting so distant towards her.

If all this was true, why _did _Phoebus keep coming back to see her? How could even stand to look at the woman who killed their son?

Esmeralda gripped her hair. She had too many questions. If she sat here thinking about it, she would go crazy. She pushed the thoughts away, but the only other thing she could think about was Anastasia's warning about the pills.

What would the pills do to her? And how did Anastasia know?

The only thing Esmeralda knew for certain was if she wasn't crazy when she was sent here, she surely would be by the end of the six months.

It was a full moon that night and it was casting its light into Esmeralda's room through the barred window. She glanced longingly at the sky. She missed being outside, she missed having space to move around, she missed being free.

Esmeralda had been so angry with her parents for sending her here, but now it seems she got off lucky. Her punishment for killing Zephyr should be death. She deserved it. Although, she didn't think she deserved to die in this place. At least, she didn't want to die there.

Esmeralda looked back up at the window. It was such a tease only being three feet out of reach.

A sudden idea came to her and she looked around her room. If she could just stand on something, she could probably reach the window. She quickly stood up and tried pushing her bed towards the window. It didn't budge though. She tried again, but it still didn't move. She looked down and realized the bed was actually bolted to the floor.

_Great, _she thought. _Now what?_

Her sink was tall enough that she'd be able to reach the window, but it was of course attached to the wall. She eyed the space between the sink and the window. It actually wasn't far. If she could get enough height, she could probably jump from the sink to the window.

Esmeralda slowly walked over to the door and peek out into the hallway. No one was around. She hoisted herself onto the sink, then stood up. She took a deep breath, bent her knees, then leapt towards the window. She fell short, landing hard on her knees.

"Damn it," she muttered, rubbing her knees.

She waited until the pain subsided before trying again. She got closer this time, but still fell short. She was prepared this time and landed on her feet. She immediately climbed back up on the sink. She hit the wall, her hands only inches from the window. She smiled to herself as she got back on the sink. She was so close. She bent her knees, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, focused her gaze on the window, then sprung forward.

Esmeralda grabbed the bars on the window and sighed in relief. She pulled herself up a little bit, grateful for her upper body strength. The window was nailed shut.

"Of course."

Esmeralda shifted all of her weight to one side and carefully let go with one hand. It was hard to hold herself up with one arm, but she had to do it. She started clawing at the wood around one of the nails until she could wiggle the nail free. She shifted her weight to the other arm and started working on another nail.

Eventually Esmeralda was able to get out all but two nails. She had no idea how long she had been working on it, probably a couple hours, and her arms were threatening to give out on her. She fought through the pain and chipped at the wood around one of the nails. She knew if she could just one more nail out, she would be able to push the window open and get out.

Unfortunately as soon as the nail was out, the window flew open on its own and hit the side of building with a loud crash. Esmeralda lost her grip and fell to the floor. Her arms were weak and her hands hurt, but she was only one more jump away from freedom.

Esmeralda forced herself to quickly get back on the sink. No doubt someone would have heard that and she had to hurry. She flung herself forward with what strength she had left and grasped the bottom edge of the window. Her arms shook as she pulled herself up. She positioned herself so she was crouching in the window and was just about to jump when a pair of hands grabbed her waist. Esmeralda tried to jump anyway, but she was pulled back and she hit her head hard against the last nail in the window. Blood dripped down her forehead, but she ignored it as she struggled to get out the window. The hands pulled her backwards and Esmeralda was now almost completely back in the room.

"No!" she cried out grabbing the edge of the window.

Esmeralda tried pulling herself forward, but they were stronger and she was forced down to the floor. She rolled over onto her back. She wasn't the least bit surprised to see Jafar was the one holding her down. She struggled under him, but he just tightened his grip on her. She narrowed her eyes at him and then spit in his face. He let go of her with one hand to wipe it off and Esmeralda used that opportunity fight him off her. She got to her feet and started to get away from him, but he grabbed her and threw her down on the bed.

"Get off me!"

While still holding Esmeralda down, Jafar took a step to the side and suddenly Maleficent was next to him. When she saw Maleficent was holding a straightjacket, Esmeralda started fighting harder against Jafar.

"No!" Esmeralda cried out. "No, please!"

Esmeralda started clawing and biting at both of them, but Maleficent was still able to force the straightjacket on her. When it was securely fastened, they both stepped back. Esmeralda couldn't help crying as she wiggled to get free. Of course, she failed. Jafar laughed and walked out of the room. Maleficent glanced up at the open window, then smiled at Esmeralda.

"Enjoy the fresh air," Maleficent said, slipping out the door.

Esmeralda leaned against the wall and looked up at the window. She had been so close, but now all she could do was sit there and stare at the open window above her, knowing that she was still trapped despite the air flowing in that whispered of freedom.


	21. Chapter 21

Jasmine was late. She was so scared of trying to run away that she had hesitated and left later than she was supposed to to meet Aladdin. Perhaps things would have ended up differently if she had been on time. But she didn't know that then.

As usual Jasmine had no trouble getting outside. She stuck to the shadows and slowly made her way to their meeting spot. She paused just for a moment when she saw the window to the basement. Even if she and Aladdin were successful in getting away from The Smith House, she would never be able to forget what she saw. The image of Dr. Facilier killing that boy would be forever imprinted in her brain. The memory of Belle hanging from the ceiling would make sure Jasmine always felt guilty. No; even if she escaped, she would never truly be free.

But there were other students here who didn't know about the horrors taking place just below their feet. It was up to Jasmine and Aladdin to go to the police and save them.

Especially Thomas.

Jasmine's heart ached at the thought of Thomas. Would they do the same thing to him that they did to that boy? Would they kill him and make it look like a suicide? Jasmine wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. How could all of this be going on and no one knew about it? Surely, the students that had been here before must have known something. Though, Jasmine supposed they just killed them, too. But what about the students' parents? Didn't they realize their kids were gone?

Jasmine had so many questions and she wasn't sure if she would ever have any answers.

When she finally reached their meeting spot, Aladdin wasn't there. She knew without a doubt that he wouldn't have left without her. So, where was he? Was he late, too? Or did he get tired of waiting and go back to his room? She _had_ been an hour late, it was possible he gave up waiting for her.

Jasmine waited for Aladdin for an hour, but he never came. Finally, she just went back inside. Maleficent still hadn't given her another roommate, so her room was empty that night. The presence of Belle's death still hung in the air and no matter what Jasmine did, she couldn't get rid of it.

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Jasmine didn't see Aladdin at all the next day. Her heart pounded in her chest all day and she was sure it would explode out of fear. What happened to him? Did he actually leave without her? Jasmine couldn't really blame him since she had backed out on him so many times. Knowing it was possible that Aladdin would leave without her made her panic. At the same time, though, she was glad he was safe. Jasmine had made up her mind that she was going to try and escape, so she would still do it. But without Aladdin it would now be possible for her to bring Thomas as well.

This made Jasmine feel somewhat better.

But, first, she had to make sure Aladdin was actually gone. During free time that night Jasmine went down to Aladdin's room. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There were a few moments of silence before a voice called out for her to come in. She slowly opened the door and stepped into the dimly lit room. Aladdin was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Jasmine wasn't sure how she felt about seeing him. Part of her was relived to know he was okay, part of her was confused and part of her was a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten away.

"Aladdin?" she asked quietly. "What happened?"

"You were late," Aladdin replied as Jasmine sat down on his bed.

"I'm sorry. I-" Jasmine stopped short when Aladdin sat up and she saw the burns on his temples. "What...?" She couldn't even form a sentence.

"About a half an hour after you were supposed to meet me, Maleficent and Jafar found me. They assumed I was trying to run away and they put me through electric shock as punishment." Aladdin lowered his head. His hair fell over the burns, hiding them. "We would have gotten away if you had been on time. Now they're going to be watching me to make sure I don't try again."

"You have no idea how sorry I am."

Aladdin looked back up at her. "I don't blame you; it was my idea. But you still have to get out of here, Jasmine. They won't be watching you. Get out and get help."

Jasmine nodded. "I will."

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Maleficent paced back and forth in her office. Jafar stood in the corner, clutching his staff and watching her.

"We're getting sloppy," Maleficent muttered. "We were so close to losing Esmeralda. And then Aladdin tried running away. The students outnumber us and we can't contain all of them if they turn on us."

"What do you want to do?" Jafar asked.

"We have to accelerate our plan."

"You mean brainwash them all?"

Maleficent shook her head, obviously annoyed. "We have two better weapons at our disposal. Esmeralda and Ariel."

"I don't follow."

Maleficent rubbed her forehead. "I know Clayton had a lawyer here. No doubt he's going to try and turn us in. Esmeralda and Ariel are bother killers; if we can push them far enough they _will _kill again."

"And you want them to kill Clayton and the lawyer?" Jafar guessed.

"I want them to kill everyone. I want no survivors: no one to rat us out. Then you, Dr. Facilier and I will leave this state and start a new facility somewhere where no one knows us."

"How do you plan on pushing them over the edge?"

"Esmeralda is unstable; she'll be easy. Ariel, on the other hand, will be more difficult. I think we may need Dr. Facilier to get inside her head and mess with her mind a little bit."


	22. Chapter 22

Meg woke up early. According to the clock on her nightstand it was only four o'clock in the morning. She groaned and rolled over to try and fall back asleep. Instead, however, she was greeted with a wave of nausea. She clutched her stomach and lied very still, hoping it would pass. It didn't pass, though; it got worse. Meg was now on the verge of throwing up and she quickly got out of bed and hurried down to the bathroom.

She barely made it to the bathroom in time. She bent over the toilet as she vomited uncontrollably. Her stomach soon became sore and her throat burned and felt raw. She gripped the edge of the seat to keep from crying in pain. When Meg was sure she was done, she slowly pulled herself up and walked over to the sink. She splashed some water on her face and then rinsed out her mouth.

Meg was feeling much weaker as she made her way back to her room. She crawled back into bed but even though she still felt tired, she couldn't fall back asleep. Before she knew it, it was six o'clock and she had to get up.

Meg dragged herself out of bed and made her way back down to the bathroom. As usual, Rapunzel was already there getting ready.

"Good morning, Meg," Rapunzel greet cheerily.

"Morning," Meg grumbled.

Rapunzel immediately started rambling on about something, but Meg ignored her and got in the shower. She was still feeling sick, but thankfully she didn't have to throw up again.

Meg managed to finish getting ready without any trouble, but as soon as she stepped into the cafeteria and smelled the food, the nausea returned. She put her hand over her mouth and ran to the nearest bathroom. She didn't throw up as much as she had before, but she still felt just as weak afterwards as she had earlier that morning. After cleaning herself up, Meg pushed open the door and stumbled into the hallway.

"Good morning, Megara."

Meg looked up to see Maleficent standing in front of her. "Morning, ma'am."

"Are you feeling ill?"

"Only a little, ma'am. I'll be fine."

Meg started to walk past Maleficent, but she reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"You should see the doctor."

"Really, ma'am, I'm fine. It's just..."

"Just a little morning sickness?" Maleficent asked, eying Meg's stomach.

"Morning sickness..." Meg repeated slowly as she involuntarily put her hand on her stomach.

Maleficent led Meg down the hall, but instead of going to the medical center they went through a hidden door and down to the basement. Much to Meg's surprise the basement looked like a science lab. She looked around anxiously and when she saw the Voodoo dolls, she tried to pull away from Maleficent. Maleficent's grasp tightened and they kept making their way across the basement. The reached another door and Maleficent knocked on it.

"Dr. Facilier, we have a situation; open up."

The door slowly opened and a tall, impossibly skinny man appeared in front of them. "What is it?" he asked.

"It seems Megara here is pregnant."

Dr. Facilier nodded and stepped back to let them come in. This room looked more like a doctor's room. A table for the patients was in the center of the room and small tray sat beside it with medical tools and syringes.

"Get her on the table," Dr. Facilier said as he put on a pair of rubber gloves.

Meg wanted to protest and pull away, but part of her was still in shock over the fact that she was pregnant. As soon as she was on the table Dr. Facilier put his hand on her stomach.

"She's definitely pregnant," he said.

"How-how do you know?" Meg asked, meekly.

Dr. Facilier looked at her as if her question was the stupidest thing he had ever heard, but didn't answer her.

"Did you think we didn't know about yours and Gaston's... activities?" Maleficent asked.

Meg looked down. She honestly _had _thought they didn't know.

"Lie down," Dr. Facilier instructed.

Meg slowly lied down. Maleficent and Dr. Facilier immediately started strapping her hands and feet down.

"What are you doing? Stop!" Meg struggled to get away, but they were much stronger than her.

"We can't allow you to have this baby," Maleficent told her.

"What are you going to do?" Meg fought back her tears as she tried getting her hands out of the leather cuffs.

"We're going to remove it." Dr. Facilier walked over to her with a pair of scissors. He quickly cut open her shirt and removed the scraps of cloth so she was just lying there in her bra.

"Please don't do this!" Meg pleaded.

Dr. Facilier set the scissors down and picked up a syringe. He tapped it, then walked back over to Meg.

"This will make you go unconscious," Dr. Facilier told her.

"No!" Meg tried to get away, but it was no use; her arms were strapped down tightly.

Dr. Facilier stuck the needle into Meg's arm and within a few seconds she blacked out.

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Meg slowly opened her eyes. She looked around the room, but no one was there. At first she was groggy, but everything quickly became clear when she felt the awful, sharp pain in her stomach. She looked down and saw her stomach had been cut open and was now stitched up. When she realized she was still strapped to the table, tears of fear sprung to her eyes; this time she didn't fight them back. She closed her eyes and let the hot tears stream down her cheeks.

A sudden cold hand on her arm made Meg jump. She turned her head and saw Cinderella kneeling next to the table. Cinderella was skinnier than the last time Meg saw her and her skin had a gray tint to it.

"Cinderella?" Meg's voice came out weak and raspy. "What did they do to me?"

"They cut you open to remove your baby. They also sterilized you," Cinderella explained. "But, I'm gonna get you out of here."

"Have they been running brainwashing experiments on you?" Meg asked.

"Not on me; not yet. But there are two boys down here, Ferdinand and Charming, that the doctor has been experimenting on. Snow White's here, too, but they keep her unconscious because she gets violent."

Cinderella reached up and unstrapped Meg's wrist. Once her hand was free, Meg unstrapped her other wrist and her feet. She slowly got off the table, but pain shot through her body and she fell to her knees. Cinderella put her hand on Meg's shoulder.

"You have to get out of here," Cinderella said. "Stay hidden and try to escape."

"What about you?"

"It's too late for me. Now, please leave."

Meg hugged Cinderella and forced herself to stand up. She struggled to get up the stairs, but pushed herself to keep going. She slipped out the basement door just in time to see Maleficent and Jafar coming down the hall. She quickly dove under the stairs. When they got closer she saw they were pulling a struggling Gaston behind them.

"This behavior is unacceptable," Maleficent said. "It's clear that you are not progressing and you have to be punished for what you've been doing."

"What are you going to do to him?" Jafar asked.

They stopped outside the basement door and Maleficent eyed Gaston. "There's only one way he's going to learn. I'm going to have Dr. Facilier perform a small operation on him; make him a eunuch."

Meg clasped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. Gaston fought harder to get away from them and there was no mistaking the fear in his face. Meg silently sobbed as she watched Maleficent and Jafar drag Gaston down to the basement. As soon as the door was closed, Meg came out from under the stairs and continued down the hallway. It wasn't long until she heard voices coming towards her and she ducked inside the first door she came to. She quietly closed the door behind her and peeked out the window. John Smith and his father were walking by with the lawyer, Robert.

"What are you doing in here?"

Meg quickly spun around to see an old man in a black robe walking towards her. It was then that Meg realized she was in a room that looked like the inside of a church. There were a few rows of pews on either side of the aisle and there was a platform in the front of the room with a podium on it. To the left side of the room were confessional booths. Meg thought back to the day she got here and remembered Maleficent saying something about a minister. What was his name? Frollo.

Minister Frollo was now standing a couple feet away from Meg and staring at her. Meg looked down and saw she was still only in her jeans and bra. She self consciously crossed her arms over her chest.

"I know you," Frollo said. "You're the Satan worshiping slut."

"I'm not a slut."

Frollo nodded towards Meg's stitches. "Right."

"I should get going." Meg started to leave the room, but Frollo grabbed her arm and closed the door. "Let me go."

Frollo ignored her and started pulling her down the aisle. Meg tried getting away from him, but she was too weak with pain and even this old man was stronger than her right now. When they reached the end of the aisle, Frollo threw Meg down on her knees. Meg wrapped her arm around her stomach and looked up. On the wall behind the podium was a large cross with a statue of Jesus pinned to it.

"Repent," Frollo demanded.

Meg look at Frollo and glared him. "I'm _not _sorry."

Frollo slapped her and she fell over. He then grabbed her and shoved her onto her back. Before she knew what was happening, Frollo was removing her jeans and forcing himself on top of her.

"Stop it! Get off me!"

"Isn't this what you like, you little whore?"

Meg tried to push him off her, but he pressed his hand down on her cut and she screamed out in pain. Frollo kept his hand on her cut as he entered her. More tears threatened to escape from her eyes, but Meg would not give Frollo the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

It didn't take Frollo long to climax and as soon as he was done, Meg stood up pulled her clothes back on.

"That's what you asked for and that's what you deserved," Frollo told her.

Without thinking, Meg kicked Frollo as hard as she could in the chest. Surprisingly, Frollo flew backwards and hit the back of his head against one of the pews. His limp body then collapsed on the floor. Meg stared wide-eyed at Frollo's lifeless body and then she turned and ran.


	23. Chapter 23

Ariel was just falling asleep when her bedroom door flew open. She quickly sat up and jumped out of bed when she saw Jafar and Maleficent coming towards her.

"Relax, child; we're not going to hurt you," Maleficent told her.

Ariel backed up against the wall and shook her head as Maleficent reached for her.

Maleficent rolled her eyes. "You don't have a choice."

Jafar and Mulan each grabbed one of Ariel's arms and dragged her down the stairs. Ariel glanced around the dark house as she was dragged down several flights of stairs and then to an opening wall that led to another staircase. Once in the basement, they brought her to another door. Maleficent knocked on it and a tall man answered.

"It's time, Dr. Facilier," Maleficent told the man.

Dr. Facilier gave Ariel an evil smile and she immediately started struggling to get away from Mulan and Jafar. They pulled her into the room and pinned her down in a chair while Maleficent strapped her feet and hands down. The chair suddenly began to recline backwards and Ariel desperately tried to get free. When the chair stopped moving, Ariel's head was resting inside a machine. She started struggling harder as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"You won't feel anything," Dr. Facilier said.

Dr. Facilier started inserting pointed wires into various parts of Ariel's head and she let out silent screams of pain.

Dr. Facilier chuckled. "You won't feel anything _after _I turn on the machine."

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Maleficent watched eagerly as Dr. Facilier placed the top of the machine over Ariel's face so her head was now completely inside the machine. Dr. Facilier then inserted a couple chips into the machine before vigorously typing on a nearby computer that was hooked up to the machine. When he stopped typing, the machine made a small whirring sound.

"When the process is complete she will have the skills of a trained killer. She will also think the students here are responsible for her family's death and she will seek vengeance."

Maleficent smiled. "Perfect. Now for Esmeralda..."

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Esmeralda still wasn't used to the straightjacket, but she no longer struggled to get out of it. Lord knows she tried to free herself after it was put on her, but nothing worked and she eventually gave up. She just sat on her bed, staring up at the open window remembering how close she had been to escaping.

When the door to her room opened and Maleficent and Jafar walked in, Esmeralda didn't even look up. After being locked up so long, Esmeralda had finally accepted reality; she was trapped here and even if she could get out, where would she go? Esmeralda's soul was already dead and it was only a matter of time until her body was dead, too.

"You need to take these," Maleficent demanded, thrusting a small cup of pills in her face.

Esmeralda looked up at Maleficent and opened her mouth. Maleficent nodded at Jafar and Jafar quickly pinned Esmeralda so she was lying down.

"We know you spit out your pills and we've overlooked that, but you need to take these," Maleficent said. "We're going to make sure you swallow these."

Maleficent pried open Esmeralda's mouth with her fingers and then forced the pills down Esmeralda's throat. Esmeralda gagged but swallowed them. All she could think about was Anastasia warning her about taking the pills and now she was going to find out why.

_"You killed him"_

Esmeralda looked across the room and saw herself standing there in the straightjacket.

_"You killed him," she repeated. "You deserve this."_

_"Your son is dead because of you."_

Esmeralda looked under the window where another vision of herself stood. This one was wearing her favorite black dress and holding her purple scarf.

_"His blood is on your hands." The scarf and her hands were now covered in blood._

_"Mommy, I can't breathe!"_

Esmeralda looked down to see Zephyr sitting on the floor.

_"Mommy, stop!"_

Zephyr's face was slowly turning colors and he struggled to breathe.

Esmeralda started crying. "Zephyr!"

Suddenly Zephyr and the two visions of herself disappeared. Now another vision appeared by the door. She was wearing the same outfit Esmeralda had been wearing the day she arrived at The Smith House. She slowly walked towards Esmeralda.

_"Don't listen to them. You didn't kill your son."_

As soon as she said this, Zephyr reappeared on the floor; this time he was laughing and playing with his favorite stuffed animal.

_"It's the other students here," the vision continued. "They framed you. They're the ones who killed him."_

Esmeralda's room was now crowded with all of the other students. Zephyr looked fearfully up at them as they slowly surrounded them.

_"Mommy!"_

"Zephyr!" Esmeralda tried to reach for him, but she was still in her straightjacket.

_"Mommy, help me!"_

Before Esmeralda could react, the students lunged at Zephyr and he was gone. Then one by one they each disappeared as well.

_"Justice needs to be served," the vision of herself said. "Avenge your son; kill them all!"_

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Maleficent and Jafar smiled triumphantly as they watched Esmeralda being tortured by her hallucinations. Dr. Facilier's pills were affective and it was only a matter of time until she snapped and became the killer she was deep down inside.

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Jasmine lightly tapped on Thomas' door. When he didn't answer after a few seconds, she knocked again. This time he answered right away. It was obvious she had woken him up, but she wasn't going to worry about that now.

"I have to talk to you," Jasmine whispered.

Thomas opened the door and let her in.

"Where's your roommate?"

Thomas shrugged. "I haven't seen Gaston since this morning."

Jasmine closed the door behind her, but left it open a little bit so she could keep an eye out in the hallway.

"Thomas, we have to get out of here."

"Why?" Thomas asked, sitting down on his bed.

"I can't explain right now, but it's dangerous here and we have to leave. Tonight."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

"I know a way. Please, Thomas, just come with me."

Thomas raised an eyebrow at Jasmine and then stood up. "All right."

Jasmine turned around to let him get dressed. Once he was ready, the two of them started for the door. They were intercepted, however, by Kida. She pushed her way into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"I overheard you talking about running away," Kida told them.

Panic filled Jasmine. "Please don't Maleficent!"

Kida looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm not going to rat you out; I'm going to help you."

"You are?"

Kida nodded. "Anastasia is my best friend. Her parents brought her here and when they returned they acted like they never had a daughter. With the help of Anastasia's boyfriend, Dimitri, I found out where they had taken her and did some research. When I found out that students were being dropped off here and then never being seen again I began to worry about Anastasia, so I devised a plan to save her. I pretended to have a melt down so my parents would think I was crazy and send me here. When I got here, Anastasia had no idea who I was- she had completely forgotten everything. So, I dug a little deeper and found out they have basement and they're running brainwashing experiments on the students here. The students who show progress are brainwashed to forget everything and become the staff. Those who don't progress are killed."

Jasmine instinctively grabbed Thomas' hand and he tensed up. "That's terrifying! Do you have a plan?"

Kida nodded. "It turns out after our parents dropped us off, they were brainwashed to forget about us. Most of us don't really have anywhere to go from here. But, I knew of an old cabin deep in the woods several miles from here. I stored money and a phone there before coming here. If we can get there, we'll be safe."

"How do we get there?" Thomas asked.

"Follow the river; it runs right behind the cabin."

"Why haven't you left here yet?" Jasmine asked.

"I can't leave without Anastasia. But, you two can go."

"What about everyone else?" Thomas asked. "We can't leave everyone to die or be brainwashed."

"No one else knows what's going on. We can't risk being responsible for everyone. Get to the cabin and call the police. Go now."

Jasmine and Thomas nodded. He slowly opened the door and peeked out before leading Jasmine out to the hallway.

"We have to go through the library window," Jasmine told him.

Thomas stayed protectively in front of Jasmine and she followed closely behind him. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the basement door flew open. Jasmine and Thomas quickly ducked under the staircase. Maleficent stood in the doorway for a moment and then stepped away to reveal a young girl standing behind her. She couldn't have been more than sixteen years old. She had long red hair, bright blue eyes and pale skin as if she hadn't been outside in a long time. She had a knife strapped to each of her thighs and she was holding a machete.

"These students killed your family," Maleficent told the girl. "Punish them."

Jasmine clamped both of her hands over her mouth to keep from crying out. The girl smiled and then slowly started walking upstairs towards the students' bedrooms. Maleficent turned on her heel and went back down to the basement. Jasmine and Thomas were about to come out from under the stairs when they saw Jafar approaching with Esmeralda. Esmeralda, too, was armed with knives and a machete.

"Avenge your son," Jafar told her.

Esmeralda glanced up the stairs and then followed the red-haired girl up. When Jasmine and Thomas were sure they were alone, they came out from under the stairs.

"We have to help them," Jasmine said.

"We have to get to the cabin and call the police."

"That's _miles _from here; they'll all be dead by then!" Jasmine hissed. "We have to help everyone escape."


	24. Chapter 24

Thomas glanced back and forth between the stairs and Jasmine. He was torn, that was obvious, and Jasmine couldn't blame him. He had the opportunity to get away and survive, but she was asking him to knowingly enter a dangerous situation instead.

A scream rang out from somewhere above them, followed by another one. Jasmine tried not to think about someone being attacked with a machete, but the image forced its way to her mind anyway.

"Thomas, you go to the cabin," Jasmine instructed, trying to sound brave. "I don't know what's going to happen and we need someone to survive all of this if we have any hope of getting help. Go out the library window and take the route I told you about."

Thomas was hesitant, but agreed. "Be careful."

"You, too."

Jasmine hugged Thomas and then carefully made her way upstairs. Ariel and Esmeralda were on the floor where the staff's rooms were. The cook, Tiana, was dead. Her body was lying in the hallway, covered in blood that had come from the gaping cut across her throat. Ariel was bent over Nurse Chicha and Esmeralda had Clopin pinned against the wall. Jasmine quickly made her way up to the boys' floor. Tarzan and Flynn had come out of their rooms at the sound of the screaming, as did Hercules and Eric.

"What's going on?" Eric asked Jasmine.

"Esmeralda and some girl named Ariel are killing everyone on the staff. They're coming after us next. Warn everyone; we have to get out of here."

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

Meg could hear the screaming from where she was hiding in Frollo's office. She slowly opened the door and peeked out. No one was around so she quickly slipped out into the hallway. She started towards the staircase, just as a couple students came running down. Vanessa was trailing behind Pocahontas and Tarzan. They had just reached the floor where Meg was when Esmeralda grabbed Vanessa. Pocahontas and Tarzan didn't seem to notice and they kept going. Esmeralda raised her machete and swung it at Vanessa, but Vanessa quickly ducked. Without thinking, Meg ran towards the staircase and tackled Esmeralda. Esmeralda lost her footing and fell down a couple steps. Meg grabbed Vanessa's arm and pulled her back to Frollo's office. She closed the door behind them and locked it.

"What is going on?" Meg asked.

"I don't know. Esmeralda and Ariel just went on a killing spree."

Meg looked around the office. There was one window next to the desk. They were only on the second floor, so Meg was sure they would be able to jump out the window.

"We're getting out of here," Meg said, heading towards the window.

Vanessa didn't follow her. "I can't leave without Helga."

"You don't have to leave, but we should get out of this building. As long as we stay in here, we're trapped."

Vanessa nodded and made her way to the window. Meg stepped back to let Vanessa jump first. Vanessa hesitated, but then leapt out the window. She landed in the crouching position and only stumbled a little. Meg jumped after her, but when she landed she twisted her ankle. She got to her feet and limped after Vanessa. She had only gone a couple steps when a body hit the ground in front of her. She quickly jumped back and stumbled onto the ground.

Aurora's body was lying in a distorted angle on the cement patio, her purple eyes fixed lifelessly on the night sky. A little bit of blood trickled from her mouth. Meg looked up to see Rapunzel standing on the roof. She had a horrified look on her face and she was just staring at Aurora.

Meg wrapped her arms around her legs and just sat there on the cold cement. She had never seen a dead body before and she had certainly never seen someone die in front of her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the body and she had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep from screaming out.

"What happened?" Vanessa asked, standing over Aurora.

Meg slowly shook her head, but didn't say anything. People everywhere were dying and she didn't know why or how to escape. Meg suddenly felt frozen; whether it was from fear or the sheer fact that she didn't know what to do, she wasn't sure. But either way, she couldn't move.

That is until someone wrapped their arms around her and pulled her to her feet.

"We can't stay here."

Meg recognized the voice but she was in a daze and it didn't register to her. She looked up to see Hercules was the one who had picked her up. Flynn was standing next to him, looking down at Aurora's body.

"What happened to her?" Flynn asked.

"She jumped."

Everyone turned around to see Rapunzel approaching them.

"She was convinced that if she jumped from the roof fairies would catch her and fly her to safety," Rapunzel continued. "I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen to me."

"Have any of you seen Helga?" Vanessa asked.

Hercules, Flynn and Rapunzel shook their heads.

"We have to get out of here," Hercules said. "Kida says she has a cabin in the woods a few miles from here. We just have to get over that fence and follow the river."

Meg raised an eyebrow. "You mean the one with barbed wire across the top?"

Hercules started guiding Meg towards the fence. Vanessa, Flynn and Rapunzel followed after them.

"You'll get a few scratches at most. It's better than being cut apart by a crazy killer."

"Vanessa!"

Meg and Vanessa turned around. Helga was running towards them. She was covered in blood and Esmeralda was following behind her. Vanessa immediately started running towards her girlfriend, but Flynn grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Let me go! I have to help her!" Vanessa clawed at Flynn, but he didn't let go.

"It's suicide. If you go after her, you'll be killed, too."

"I don't care!" Vanessa punched Flynn in the nose, causing him to let go.

She ran as fast as she could towards Helga. Once he recomposed himself, Flynn ran after Vanessa. Vanessa was only a couple feet away from Helga when Esmeralda plunged her knife into Helga's back.

"No!" Vanessa screamed.

Vanessa lunged at Esmeralda and tackled her down. For a moment, Vanessa and Esmeralda both just lied there, neither of them moving. Flynn stopped short and started making his way back towards the small group. Esmeralda rolled Vanessa onto her back. Vanessa had a knife stuck deep between her ribcage. Esmeralda pulled out the knife and then stood up. Her eyes locked on Meg and the rest of the group. They all immediately started climbing the fence. Hercules and Flynn waited for Meg and Rapunzel to get a head start and then they started climbing after them. The top of the fence was angled inside and made completely of barbed wire.

Meg grabbed the barbed wire and hoisted herself up. The barbed wire cut across her stomach and it was then that she remembered she was still only wearing her bra. She hadn't been able to find any clothing while she was hiding. She winced in pain, but pushed through it. When she reached the top, she turned to look behind her. Esmeralda was standing at the bottom of the fence, looking up at them. She was holding one of her knives as if she were debating whether or not to throw it. Rapunzel reached the top shortly after Meg, but her hair got caught in the barbed wire. Meg balanced on the top of the barbed wire and reached over to help Rapunzel. The fence started shaking as Esmeralda climbed up after them.

When they finally got her hair free, Rapunzel and Meg jumped down to the other side of the fence. Hercules and Flynn reached the top shortly after and jumped down after them. The four of them started running and were immediately pursued by Esmeralda.


	25. Chapter 25

"We outnumber her; we can take her," Eric whispered.

Jasmine, Aladdin, Eric, Kida and Anastasia were lying low in Aladdin and Eric's room. Despite being on her own, Ariel was moving swiftly and killing people faster than Jasmine could count. So far she knew Ariel had killed Charlotte, Philip and Adam. Esmeralda killed Vanessa, Helga, Pocahontas and Tarzan. She heard Aurora killed herself. Gaston, Jim, Meg, Hercules, Flynn and Rapunzel were missing.

And then there was Thomas. Jasmine hadn't stopped praying for Thomas since they separated.

Jasmine peeked out the door and saw Ariel slowly walking down the hall towards them. She carefully stepped over Adam's body and walked around Philip's. As Ariel got closer, Jasmine moved away from the door. Ariel stopped just outside and the five of them watched the shadow of her feet moving under the crack of the door. The door slowly opened and Aladdin and Eric both immediately tackled her down. Kida and Jasmine quickly took all of her weapons. Ariel struggled to get away, but Aladdin and Eric were stronger than her and kept her pinned to the ground.

"Why are you doing this?" Anastasia asked.

Ariel didn't say anything, she just continued to struggle against Aladdin and Eric.

Kida bent over her and held a knife to her throat. "Answer her question."

Ariel stopped struggling and looked up at Kida. For a moment she just stared at her, but finally she said, "They told me you killed my father and sisters."

The five of them exchanged glances.

"We didn't kill anyone," Jasmine said.

Ariel frowned. "Yes you did! They're dead! I saw their bodies!"

It was obvious Ariel was scared and trying to conceal her fear with anger. Jasmine couldn't help feeling a little bad for her.

Jasmine knelt down beside her. "Who told you we killed your family?"

Ariel glanced at Jasmine. "Maleficent and a tall, skinny doctor."

Jasmine looked up at Aladdin, then looked back at Ariel. "Dr. Facilier?"

Ariel thought for a moment. "Yes."

"Dr. Facilier..." Anastasia repeated quietly. "I know that name."

Kida looked back and forth between Anastasia and Ariel and suddenly something clicked.

"He brainwashed you," Kida said to Ariel. "He's been brainwashing Anastasia and he did the same thing to you to make you think we killed your family."

"But why?" Eric asked.

"To kill us."

"I don't want to kill anyone!" Ariel was crying now.

"You already killed three people," Kida stated.

"I know. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to bring them back!" Kida snapped. "But we can avenge them."

Ariel's blue eyes widened. "No! Please don't kill me!"

"Why should you live after you killed our friends?" Kida demanded.

Ariel didn't say anything as a look of helplessness crossed her face. She slowly closed her eyes and started singing.

_"Up where they walk, up where they run; up where they stay all day in the sun. Wanderin' free, wish I could be part of that world."_

Kida ignored her and went to drag the knife across her throat, but Eric stopped her.

"Wait," Eric said, looking down at Ariel. "I've heard that song before."

Kida rolled her eyes. "So?"

Eric let go of Ariel and helped her sit up. He then turned on the light in the room and studied Ariel.

"When I was living with my abusive foster dad, I'd sneak out late at night and go for walks along ocean shore just to get away for a little bit. One night, the night I found out I'd be coming here, I went on a longer walk than usual. I heard you singing that song; you were in the water. I didn't want to scare you, so I kept my distance. I haven't been able to get that song out of my head since then," Eric told her. "My whole world seemed to be crashing down around me, but your song gave me hope."

Ariel lowered her head. "That was the night my family was killed."

Ariel's eyes glazed over and became distant. After a few moments her eyes widened and she started crying again.

"I remember! I remember everything." Ariel looked at the five students standing around her. "You didn't kill my family. It was a home invasion. Two men broke into our house and killed them. My older sister, Andrina, and I shared a room. When I heard the gun shots, I screamed, which attracted one of the men to our room. Andrina hid under the bed and I hid in our closet. The man came into our room and killed her. When I heard the man leave I rushed over to my sister to help her, but she was dead. I snuck out my bedroom window and ran away. By the time the police arrived, the men were gone. They found me in the ocean, covered in my sister's blood so they thought I killed them and sent me here. It was my fault Andrina died; if I had just been quiet, they wouldn't have come to our room."

Jasmine put a comforting hand on Ariel's shoulder. "It's not your fault. That man killed your sister, not you."

"What happened here?"

The six of them looked up to see the owner's son, John Smith, standing in the doorway.

"Who killed all of these people and where is everyone else?" John asked.

"It was Esmeralda," Eric said, quickly.

"We think maybe she was brainwashed by Dr. Facilier," Kida added.

John looked down at Philip's body which was only a foot or so away from the door. "He said he stopped those experiments."

"Maleficent told him to do it," Ariel said, meekly.

"Where are they now?" John asked. "Where are the rest of the students?"

"We don't know," Aladdin told him.

"Maleficent, Dr. Facilier and Jafar are in the basement. Snow White, Cinderella and Gaston are there, too, but they're dead." Jim approached the door. He was clutching his arm, which was bleeding profusely. His skin was pale and he could barely stand on his own.

"Jim!" Anastasia pushed passed everyone and rushed to Jim's side. "What happened to you?"

"I hid in the basement, but Dr. Facilier found me. I ran away from him, but he shot me."

Aladdin pulled off his belt and wrapped it tightly around Jim's arm to stop the bleeding. "You have to get to the hospital."

"All of the exits are blocked," Jim told them.

"If we can get to the library there's a window we can use," Aladdin said.

"What about him?" Kida asked, pointing her knife at John. "He _is _the owner's son; he's gotta be in on all this, too."

"He's not," Jim said. "He helped me get away from Dr. Facilier."

Kida eyed John. "All right... Let's just get to my cabin."


	26. Chapter 26

Note: This was only going to be 25 chapters, but since the last chapter ended up being so long I split it into two chapters.

So, here's the final chapter of _the girl in the staircase..._

* * *

Meg's legs were getting sore. She had no idea how long she had been running, but she couldn't stop; Esmeralda wasn't far behind. The four of them had split up just in case Esmeralda caught up to them; at least there would be a better chance of someone getting away if they weren't all together. Meg had stuck with Hercules while Rapunzel and Flynn veered off. They were running parallel to the river and Meg hoped Flynn and Rapunzel were still on the right course, as well.

"I have a plan," Hercules whispered to Meg. "Hide behind that tree up there."

Meg saw the large willow tree looming next to the river and she quickly hid behind it. Hercules stopped short and let Esmeralda catch up to him. The two of them started fighting instantly. Hercules was much stronger than her, but she did have the advantage of her weapons. Meg wanted to help Hercules, but she was so tired from running, she didn't think she'd be able to move. However, when she saw Hercules struggling, she knew she had to do something. Meg waited until Esmeralda's back was to her, then she picked up a rock and threw it at her. It hit her in the head, causing her to lose her focus. Hercules pushed her into the water and held her head under until he was sure she was no longer breathing.

Meg grabbed his arm and pulled him away. "We have to get out of here."

The two of them continued along the path until they finally found the cabin. As soon as it was in view, they ran towards it. They barged through the door and were surprised to see Thomas sitting inside. He looked up anxiously at them, but then a small look of disappointment filled his face. Flynn and Rapunzel came in a few moments after them.

"Meg! I'm so glad you're okay!" Rapunzel cried, hugging Meg.

"This isn't over, yet," Hercules said. "We need to get help; Ariel's still out there."

"I already called the police and sent them to The Smith House," Thomas said, holding up the prepaid cell phone. "I told them what happened and where we are. They told us to stay put."

**:::X:::X:::X:::**

The eight of them were just crossing the yard when they saw the red and blue flashing the lights.

"It's the police," Jasmine told them. "Thomas made it to the cabin!"

"We don't have to run anymore," Anastasia said.

"What about Ariel?" Eric asked. "They still think she killed her family and now she's also killed three more people; they'll lock her up for sure."

"The police can't help us," Kida said. "I mean, they can arrest Dr. Facilier and the rest of them, but our families don't remember us; we don't really have any place to go."

"What should we do?" Jasmine asked.

"Continue to the cabin," Kida told her.

"What about Jim?" Anastasia asked. "He needs to go to a hospital."

"I'll take him," John suggested. "You guys go."

"Let me have your phone," Kida said.

John pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Kida. She punched something into the phone and handed it back to him.

"That's the number for the phone at the cabin. Please call us to let us know how Jim is doing," Kida instructed.

John agreed and they split up. The six of them walked through the woods for a long time before finally reaching the cabin. Jasmine had just begun to feel tired from all the walking but, as soon as she saw the cabin, she ran for it. She flew through the front door and immediately saw Thomas.

"Thomas!" Jasmine flung her arms around Thomas' neck and hugged him tightly.

"I was so worried about you," Thomas told her.

Their joy was cut short, however, as soon as Ariel walked in. Hercules grabbed Ariel by the neck and slammed her against the wall.

"Stop it!" Anastasia cried, trying to pull him away.

Hercules ignored her and tightened his grip on Arie's throat.

"Let her go!" Eric demanded.

When Hercules ignored him, Eric punched him in the face. Hercules let go and stumbled back. Ariel collapsed to her knees and started coughing. Eric placed himself protectively in front of her.

"Why are you protecting that killer?" Flynn demanded.

"She's not a killer," Kida said.

Kida explained to everyone what Ariel had told them. They were all still a little skeptical, especially Hercules, but they left Ariel alone. Kida then told them how the staff of The Smith House had brainwashed their parents and now their families don't remember them.

"On top of all that, the police will be looking for us after they see all of those bodies," Kida continued.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Rapunzel asked.

"Start over." Kida walked over to the other side of the room, pulled back a rug and knelt down. She then pried up a couple of the floor boards and pulled out a black garbage bag.

"There's $60,000 in this bag. We can split it up evenly amongst ourselves and Jim; we'll each get $5,000. I know it's not a lot, but when I was planning this I had only intended on rescuing Anastasia. Use the money however you'd like, but I suggest starting a new life. Forget your past life and forget The Smith House-if you can."

**THE END.**

* * *

_Thank you all so much for reading this. I'm thinking about writing a sequel, but I'm also working on my novel and my other fan fic "The Minister's Reign", so I_ may_ not get around to it right away. A very, very special thank you goes out to all of my loyal readers and reviewers! I appreciate all of you very much._

_Be on the look out for a possible sequel to this story and please read "The Minister's Reign". My updates may be slower than usual since I'm going to be focusing more on my novel, however writer's block does hit and I'll be working on my Disney stories when that happens._

_Thanks again!_  
_Meg Rider_


	27. Chapter 27

The sequel to "the girl in the staircase" has been posted. It's called "Escaping Nightmares." You can find it on my profile page.


End file.
